Beyond Folders : procrastination

Work-Free Weekends

Community Manager — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:32:00 GMT

Think homework is just for kids? Too often, work creeps into the weekends, cutting into downtime with friends and family.

If work projects and emails are eating into your weekend time, we have some tips for getting your workload back on a Monday-through-Friday schedule.

Take a Load Off: If a crushing workload demands weekend hours to keep up, it's time to talk with your boss about redistributing the load. Your boss may be unaware that you are shouldering a disproportionate burden. Before talking with your higher ups, spend a few days or weeks logging your time so you can demonstrate how your time is being spent. For more advice, read How to Talk to Your Boss about Being Overworked.

Set Boundaries: If your boss or a work colleague is emailing or calling you at all hours and on weekends for non-urgent matters, take time to set boundaries. Calmly and professionally let your co-worker know that you are happy to respond to emails and work calls during the week, but unless the matter is urgent, you will not be back at work until first thing Monday morning and will respond then. Most people will get the hint and limit their outreach appropriately. For more advice, we like the advice in Set Boundaries at the Office to Balance Work, Family.

Stop Time-Wasting: Sometimes it's you, not them. Are you prone to procrastination? Too chatty at the office water cooler? Taking longer lunches than you should? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it's time to make an honest assessment of time spent in the office, so you stop taking the office home with you on weekends. Read 13 Common Work Time-Wasters and take a good look in the mirror: change what you don't like seeing.

Practice Better Time Management: In a fast-paced, demanding work world, effective time management is key so if your skills aren't up to snuff, make 2012 the year you overhaul them. Our past posts on time-blocking and effective time-management are great places to start.

How do you keep your weekends free of work demands? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook and Twitter pages.

Now, Not Later: Tips to Stop Procrastinating

Community Manager — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:16:00 GMT

If you meant to make New Year's resolutions but somehow never got around to it, we have a resolution for you. Procrastinator, time to kick your habit of putting off must-do tasks once and for all.

Who Me? Procrastinate?

We all know what procrastination looks like: putting off until tomorrow what we should do today. Yet some forms of procrastination are more subtle. Often we busy ourselves with small tasks rather than tackling high priority jobs. Do you ever:

Sit down to a critical task and immediately get side-tracked?
Say yes to unimportant tasks that distract you from high priority tasks?
Read e-mails several times without taking action?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, welcome to the I-Need-to-Change-My-Procrastinating-Ways Club.

Why People Procrastinate

Recognizing you are a procrastinator is the first step in tackling a condition that derails productivity and decision-making.

Common reasons for procrastinating include:

Disorganization
Reluctance to tackle what is perceived as unpleasant or difficult
Absence of strong decision making skills
Fear of failure (perfectionists take note: this is most often your concern)

Tips to Stop

To begin, set the stage. Visualize the unpleasant consequences of not getting to a task. Empower others to check up on you; positive peer pressure is a motivating force. Reward yourself for accomplishing goals. Take time to notice and appreciate how the mental "stress" of leaving tasks undone disappears once the task is completed.

Get Organized, Get Going

Keep a prioritized to-do list
Schedule your tasks and your time
Break projects into manageable pieces, do it step-by step
Give yourself realistic deadlines, reward yourself for meeting them
Tackle tough jobs first; they might be less unpleasant then you feared
Overhaul your decision-making skills if you can't decide what to do first.
Practice your anti-procrastination techniques. It'll get easier.

Looking for more tips? We've collected some terrific resources:

2012 is your year to kick the procrastination habit for good. What are you waiting for?

Do you have a procrastination problem? How do you stay motivated to stay on task? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Tackling Unpleasant Tasks: Without Delay is the Easiest Way

Community Manager — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:40:00 GMT

When faced with an unpleasant task do you 1) procrastinate, 2) secretly hope it'll go away or 3) tackle it head on?

You probably already know that tackling a tough task head on makes the most sense: procrastinating only puts off the inevitable. But you might not realize that crossing a dreaded task off your list early in the day makes moving thorough your remaining to-do list easier and faster. Studies show that confidence and enthusiasm is generated by completing difficult tasks.

Need advice for tackling those tough tasks first thing? We like the advice from New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin who says that "without delay is the easiest way" when a tough task looms. Other tips include facing unpleasant tasks first thing in the morning or using the buddy system. Read 7 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination for more.

Other tips for dealing with tough tasks include:

Set aside fear of failure and just get going
Break the task into short chunks and tick them off one by one
Minimize distractions by turning off your phone, email or by closing the door
Motivate yourself to dive in. Small rewards-a cup of coffee, 15 minutes browsing online-can entice you to make progress

How do you tackle tough tasks? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Stop Procrastinating Now!

Community Manager — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:34:00 GMT

English humorist Douglas Adams once joked "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Easy to make jokes when being funny is your job but at most workplaces procrastination is no laughing matter. Time is valuable; if we spend it putting off important tasks, it's doubly-wasted.

So let's jump right in. Are you a procrastinator?

Do you ever:

Sit down to a critical task and immediately get side-tracked?
Say yes to unimportant tasks that distract you from high priority items?
Read e-mails several times without taking action?

If you answered yes (like I did) to any of those, you are a procrastinator. Need help determining if you're a major or a minor procrastinator? Mind Tools has a helpful Are You a Procrastinator? quiz.

Why People Procrastinate

Recognizing you are a procrastinator is the first step in tackling the why-do-today-what-you-can-put-off-until-tomorrow attitude that derails productivity and decision-making.

So why procrastinate? Common reasons include:

Disorganization
Reluctance to tackle what is perceived as unpleasant or difficult
Absence of strong decision making skills
Fear of failure (perfectionists take note: this is most often your concern)

For a more in-depth look at the emotional and psychological reasons people procrastinate, we've collected some useful articles:

Beating Procrastination: Manage Your Time. Get It All Done
Procrastination. How to Spot It. How to Stop It. Http

Tips to Stop Procrastinating

Now to the good stuff. How to stop procrastinating once and for all.

To begin, set the stage. Visualize the unpleasant consequences of not doing the task. Empower others to check up on you; positive peer pressure is a motivating force. Once you've set up your stick, be sure to find your carrot. Reward yourself for accomplishing goals. What I have found is thinking about all the things I have to do causes 'mental stress', which magically disappears once the task is done!

Get Organized, Get Going

Keep a prioritized to-do list
Schedule your tasks and your time
Break projects into manageable pieces, do it step-by step
Give yourself realistic deadlines, reward yourself for meeting them
Tackle tough jobs first; they might be less unpleasant then you feared
Overhaul your decision-making skills if you can't decide what to do first.
Practice your anti-procrastination techniques. It'll get easier.

Looking for more tips? We've collected some terrific resources:

It's Never Too Late to Stop Procrastinating. WebMD
How to Stop Procrastinating Now. Entreprneur.com
The Knowing-Doing Gap: How to Stop Procrastinating. Oprah.com

So kick the procrastination habit for good. What are you waiting for?

Do you have road-tested anti-procrastination tips to share? How do you motivate yourself to tackle tough projects? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Candie Harris