Peace of Mind Organizing

Worth repeating: Getting and staying on task

14 July 2016

Effective task management is a moving target for me. I’ve come to accept that I need to switch things up in order to keep myself engaged and get stuff done. So I vary my systems according to my need and mood. This post, originally published May 22, 2013, describes a sort of emergency intervention I use when I just can’t get myself to get anything done.

For the last two days, I have had such a difficult staying focused and productive at my desk! My day yesterday was completely unstructured, which is sometimes a recipe for disaster for me. Without an appointment looming, it can be really hard for me to get started.

Today, I’m just trying to get a few hours of work in after my client appointment.

It’s not that I don’t know what to do: I have a four-item list I created this morning. (I usually create that the night before; that’s how unproductive I was yesterday.) A couple of those items will be very easy to accomplish. So why aren’t I starting?

I think I feel, for whatever reason, just really unfocused. Usually my to-do list is enough to focus me. Today, it’s going to take more. I’m pulling out the big guns: a timer + a reward.

One of the easy items on my task list is doing 15 minutes of Quickbooks entry. That’s right, just 15 minutes and I can check that off my list and feel accomplished. I often feel such resistance to even opening the Quickbooks program, though. It’s inexplicable. I actually rather enjoy accounting and my cash flow is positive, so it should feel good. But sometimes getting started on it is like pulling teeth. Thus the low threshold for success (15 minutes).

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to spend 15 minutes on Quickbooks. And when I finish that, I’m going to give myself a reward: 15 minutes watching the mini-series The Pillars of the Earth which I have on DVD from the library. (I just finished reading the book again, so I’m going to enjoy it, I’m sure.)

I’ll layer 15 minutes of TV watching in after I finish each of the four items on my list.

Another good idea: I’m going to keep away from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. They’ve been such a distraction these last couple of days.

There. I have a plan. I’m starting to feel productive!

If you hit a productivity rough patch, you might try the one-two punch of a timed burst of activity coupled with a reward. It can be pretty powerful!

ETA: It worked! I got all the things on my list done, as well as some other stuff. That timer really got me going.

Tagged with: 15 minutes, productivity, rewards, time management, worth repeating

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