If you are working hard but not accomplishing much... but I hope you’re not working today ... there could be three simple tweaks you can make to your system that could double your volume within three months. I’m not a time management or productivity expert, but I can help otherwise creative and intelligent people move past their own psychological blocks.
Whether you are trying to write a novel, make more successful sales calls, or complete an important project, these pointers on how to control time and life snatchers will help.
1. Use Commitment Devices. When you hear yourself saying, “Just this one thing ... it won’t take long ...” you’ve lost control and need to get back on track. This is where Commitment Devices pay off. If I did not have the app called Freedom turned on right now, I would be googling travel to Argentina. It’s easy to get lost down the black hole. Check out Commitment Devices or pp 75-77 in the Four Elements of Transformation.
2. If you find yourself procrastinating, Procrastinate. Sit there and do nothing, like a time out. Why? Because the reward pattern in the procrastination reinforces procrastination and encourages more procrastination. Once you figure out what you do when you procrastinate, like making labels or tidying up, don’t do it. Make procrastination a pure experience. Do nothing else.
3. Know when to quit. We workaholics perfectionists (I’ve been one) drain our life energy by working at 100%. If your project is optimal at 75%, if it serves the purpose, it’s good enough. After your projects are 75% complete, perfectionism kicks in. Your 100% is way past optimal. Energy spent beyond optimal energy is wasted energy. Print out this card and post it in your work zone.
