Peace of Mind Organizing

Getting past the barrier to getting started

16 December 2013

I’m always amazed at how powerful it can be to start on a project I’ve been putting off. Even the tiniest bit of effort is like a dam breaking; the resistance vanishes and then I can get going on it.

I’d fallen behind on my Quickbooks data entry for my business. Now that the end of the year is approaching, I’m wanting to create some reports and see how things stand. I can’t do that if I haven’t entered data since October 15!

I don’t mind dealing with Quickbooks, but getting started can be really tough for me. I seem to be trapped in a mindset that I need to block out some time, spread out receipts, and really get into the zone. It’s one of those tasks that I have trouble chipping away at a little at a time. As a result, it’s been on my to-do list for weeks and weeks.

So I was bound and determined to at least do some Quickbooks data entry this weekend. But I found many other things to do instead. As 5:00 on Sunday approached, I realized that if I didn’t do something on Quickbooks—anything—I would really kick myself. Trouble was, I didn’t feel like going down to my office (my laptop was on the dining room table) and spreading everything out.

So I decided that I had to just do something to preserve my self esteem. If I did one little category of items—something as small as entering the receipts I had in my purse, which was near the dining room—it would be enough. So I entered those receipts. And then I reconciled my PayPal account with the October and November statements that I could access on my computer. And I called it done for the day.

Here’s the great thing about it: Since I managed to get started, I’m now anxious to resume. I’m not going to have a chance until later today (because of client and other obligations), but I’m confident that I’ll spend some time with Quickbooks late in the day because I’ve gotten over the hump. It felt good. Plus, I want to create those reports!

If you’ve been reading my blog awhile, you know this is a pretty constant refrain in my life. If you haven’t already, you might want to check out the blog posts Just do something and Getting started, which has a nifty technique for tricking yourself into getting started.

Tagged with: procrastination, productivity, time management

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