Procrastination vs. Inspiration

I grew up thinking I was just a procrastinator. When a project was first announced I had a jumble of great ideas, then "pffft"... nothing until just before it was due. During that time all those ideas percolated in my brain and ideas formed, connections were made, thesis/antithesis/synthesis became clearer; and then at the last minute, in a flood of inspiration, it would all tumble out.

And because I didn't spend an hour a day on it, keep copious index cards, and have a proper outline at the ready, I was constantly berated as a procrastinator - a veritable four-letter word when you're in school.

Now, when I look back on it and analyze my behavior and thinking patterns, and I compare them with how I work today, I realize that in truth I wasn't actually procrastinating.

Some people are great at organizing their thoughts well in advance, and managing their thinking processes-their creative processes-on paper. Others, like me, do this in their heads. For me, I have to let the ideas sit and simmer for a while so that the various themes and threads can begin to come together into what I feel will be a good finished product. That's when the "inspiration" hits and I begin to produce.

Now, don't get me wrong... with certain things, like cleaning the bathroom, doing the laundry, or paying the bills, I can procrastinate with the best of them. But I've learned that procrastination is related to things I don't want to do! For things I want to do, it isn't procrastination, it's my thinking and creative process.

In time management it's important to know that all the rules, keys, tips, and tricks we create are really just guidelines to help us keep focused and not lose track of things. It is important to honor the way you innately do things and let your system adapt to your natural processes, not the other way around. (I guess you could say I'm a "form-follows-function" kinda guy.)

Once you identify your natural way of doing things—your native creativity patterns—then you can use your time management skills in ways to enhance them. And for those things that you truly are procrastinating over, your time management practice can provide a way to keep those under control.

Reducing Paper Clutter

I just ran across this great article in LifeHacker.org and had to share it. It deals with paper clutter and the author provides a great method for controlling it, with out being overly OCD about it. Here's the link: http://bit.ly/kxC30n

Adding a quick, daily scan of the paper that came in during the day is a great way to keep the stack of paper manageable until your weekly review time. That daily review should be quick and "unfiltered" as you briefly scan items and place into "keep" and "toss" piles. (I bet your "toss" pile ends up the larger of the two!)

In Session 2 of my Time Management seminars we talk about the weekly review process. This article provides a great addition to that review session.

Some additional organizational thoughts for the weekly review process that I might add to this writer's process are:

• Add action items to the proper to-do list or calendar date; then toss that piece of paper.
• Informational items such as phone numbers, addresses and such, add to the proper storage media right then and there; then toss that piece of paper.
• Paper that you need to keep handy, such as bills and forms, can be stacked in an inbox to be addressed that week. Add an action item to your to-do list on the day you intend to do it. If there's anything you didn't address by the next review session, you can reschedule into the next week. Another option, if you have space and are so inclined, is to have file folders for each week day and place the items in their appropriate day. But if you don't truly have room for this, don't do it - it will just add clutter.

Three Easy Steps to Success

Here are my three easy rules for success:

1. If you want to succeed, show up.
2. If you want to succeed and be noticed, show up on time.
3. If you want to succeed and blow the competition out of the water, show up on time and take notes.

It's that easy.

Creating a Sacred Workspace

Create Sacred Space? Really? Where I'm working, where I spread out my papers, answer the phone and set up my computer is really a sacred space?

Well, yes. At least it should be; especially in terms of "sacred" meaning something that is set apart.

If you're someone that works in an office building with other co-workers--your basic, typical office environment, this is pretty much established for you, though it may seem anything but sacred. But if you're like me and work from home then your office space is not so clearly deliniated; and if your home office is in a small apartment--like mine-- then the office also serves as dining room, living room, gaming center, media center, etc. What happens to me is that I get horribly distracted. This has four basic results:

1. I start focusing on other, less important things, or
2. I start multi-multi-tasking and my energy is so dispersed that I get nothing done, or
3. I pulled into something mind-numbing and unproductive like surfing the web or playing a game and the next thing I know the day has gone, or
4. I get so frustrated that I just walk away watch TV or something.

Clearly, those are not productive!

So what can you do about it? Well, if you're lucky enough to have some mobility in your office equipment (laptop, cell phone, iPad, etc) then go someplace else! Change the scenary for a while. Maybe find another room. If the weather is nice, go sit on your front porch or go to the park (and if those places happen to have wifi, all the better!) Head to the library and work there for a bit.

If you're not that mobile, (for example, while I have mobile equipment, the majority of my resources on on the desktop computer at home and that limits my ability to work away from the desk) then you have to find some ways to "sanctify" the space you have in order to refocus.

Since I'm physically limited in where I can go, I have found a few simple and oddly ritualistic things that help. Now, don't be afraid of ritual! We are, actually, ritual beings. Rituals are a symbolic language that speaks to us on very deep, subconscious levels and can communicate things to our psyche that all the trainings and readings and seminars just won't ever reach.

First, unclutter what's right in front of you. For me, that is NOT easy... just ask Jordan. I am a clutter person; I believe God made flat surfaces to stack stuff on. I have no delusions that I will change this behavior (sorry, Jordan) but to help me focus I can grab the loose papers and various wires, books and light bulbs that are sitting within a 45 degree viewing area in front of me and I can move them someplace else. Outta sight, outta mind!

Second, the stuff that you can't move, or might need handy, neaten up. Restack them; line them up. Put all the pens in the holder and put it in a neat place; line things up in right angles (you don't have to be OCD, but it helps!) and move them outward towards the edges of that 45 degree area in front of you, trying your best to keep the area right in front of you clear, with the exception of your keyboard or perhaps a pad of paper that you're using.

Third, find something that will engage your senses to "sanctify" the space. When I sit down, I now light a little stick of incense that I have off to the side. This signals my brain, through my sense of smell, that what is happening now is special and deserves my attention. Don't have, or don't like, incense? No problem. Use an icon, statue, crystal, rock, or piece of potter--anything that visually establishes that the space is now set apart and special.

Using cues from your senses--touch, smell, sight, even taste (coffee does it for me!)--you can communicate to yourself that the space you are using is now set aside for something special, and that special thing is work. When you're done, get up, move the "sacred object" and put it away and let the space return to it's other uses.

Depression, Anxiety and Time Management

For everyone, depression and anxiety are part of the natural ebb and flow of our emotional make up. Everyone feels depressed at some point in their life. It is a natural part of the grieving process; a response to some significant loss.

We also experience anxiety at the prospect of some impending "doom" (whether it be a test we're not prepared for or that meeting with the boss that was called unexpectedly.) Anxiety is our "early warning system" that primes our defenses and readies our fight-or-flight reflexes.

For the majority of people these emotional responses are usually relatively short lived and have a minimal impact on our ability to function. But for many these emotions can darken the world into an ever spiraling vortex that is debilitating and paralyzing. Some take medications to level the playing field and minimize the damage; others hunker down and wait it out; still others seek out various coping mechanisms - some good, some not so good - to help weather the storm.

Regardless of where you fit in this spectrum, it is important to know that depression and anxiety will have an ill effect on our daily routines in time management. Our emotions play a vital part in both our desire and ability to be focused, proactive, and consistent. When we are depressed or anxious our tendency is to avoid the things that we feel are fueling those emotions, whether or not they actually are. All those things on our to-do list look like big red buttons hot-wired directly into our depression and anxiety and the last thing we want to do is face them and deal with them. They don't just loom large on our horizon, they are gigantic! They are the monsters hiding in our closets; they are the stuff of our nightmares - literally.

The result? We avoid doing our time management. It's amazing all the things that can creep up to crowd out even the possibility of sitting down to do it. I, myself, am partial to the "crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head" response. And what do we do when we avoid doing the work? We beat ourselves up and tell ourselves how really bad we are. And that leads into more spiraling downwards, more anxiety, more depression... and more avoidance... and... and... and...

I know from experience that the reality of those to-do items is never as dire as we feel. On more than one occasion, I've bitten the bullet and faced my fears head on and discovered that it really wasn't so bad after all. It didn't dissipate the depression or solve the anxiety, but I was able to at least stop beating myself up for a little while. But for those who suffer from extremer bouts of depression and anxiety, it is often the rare occasion that they can muster up the ability to forge ahead and get down to work.

I will tell you right now that we are all victims to our emotions. Even those who only suffer mild, or "normal," depression and anxiety are victims of these emotional quagmires -- they just may not be as long lasting or as debilitating. But even if you suffer from chronic depression or have an anxiety disorder, either taking or not taking medication, your reactions to them are perfectly normal.

These emotional mine fields derail us, regardless of the severity of them. They throw us off the track of our daily planning and review, as well as our ability to monitor our activities throughout the day. While our instinct, as well as our fears, keep us focused on our being derailed, that is really not the right place to focus—especially during the time of derailment.

Instead the better focus is on what we need to do to get us back on track. The first thing may be to do absolutely nothing. During the throws of the depression or anxiety it may be impossible to do anything we might consider “productive”. Usually that just makes us feel worse, so let me give you permission to just do absolutely nothing. You have enough to worry about, so why add this to your plate? As the saying goes, “this too shall pass.” So you can wait this out and pick back up when the storm is over.

The next thing to do is to be gentle with yourself. Don’t beat yourself up or put yourself down. Be forgiving. Also, don’t try to analyze the situation right now. Once you’re back on track and some time has gone by, then it will be time to review and see what happened and what got you back on track.

And finally, realize that the things you are worrying about probably aren’t as big as you think. All those action items on your to-do list will take far less time than your fears are telling you; the severity level of them is probably much lower than you think; they will still be there—without much damage done—when things settle down.

Once the depression or anxiety has subsided, gently return to your practice. At first it will feel overwhelming, so take it smaller bites. Start fresh – don’t grab your now stale to-do list and try to pick up where you left off. Grab a fresh sheet of paper, a new page in your planner, whatever you’re using and start anew. Then, focus on the prioritization aspect. Don’t worry about the doing of the tasks, just the prioritizing of them. This is when limiting your “A’s” to just 3 is really important. You will want to make up for lost time – that’s natural. Fight this urge and force yourself to limit you “A” priorities to only 3. Focus on these for now and leave the rest.

Next, look for those things that can be scheduled forward, or better yet, completely cancelled. Getting them off your plate now will free you up considerably.

After a few weeks, when things have returned to something you consider normal, and you sit down to do your weekly review, look back over the events and analyze it. But don’t look for what went wrong. Instead, look at the things that got you back on track. Focus on the positive actions you took. These are the tools you will want to file away in your “tool box” for later retrieval.

The most important thing to remember is to not beat yourself up—realize that you are human and that what you’re going through is 100% natural. You’re not alone and you’re not the first person to have this problem. Focus on self care and then work on gently (and this is really the key word) returning to the practice.

An Alternative to Calendar Bankruptcy

I couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks to Erin for this insight.

Four steps to uncluttering your schedule

1. Lose your calendar.
2. Recall very little from your lost calendar.
3. Have people in your life who are laid back and won’t send you reminders about your upcoming engagements with them.
4. Don’t call anyone to see if you have upcoming engagements planned.

Obviously, these four suggestions are a joke. You should always keep a copy of your calendar — a daily backup for a digital calendar and a regular scan/copy of a print calendar — so a situation like this would be avoided.

However, I think we can all recall a time in our lives when we wished we could lose our calendars. We feel so overwhelmed by our obligations that we long for a way to be set free of obligations without any guilt.

Instead of chucking your calendar out the window, the next time you feel overwhelmed by your schedule try these steps to alleviate some stress:

1. Say “no” to as many future offers as possible until you feel things are becoming manageable again. You’ll need to say “yes” to things that keep you out of jail and from being fired, but most everything else can temporarily be put on hold. You’re also free to change your mind, just remember there is much less stress involved with changing your “no” to a “yes” than having to back out of something you’ve already committed to.
2. Review your schedule and see if there is anything you can gracefully back out of without much guilt or repercussions. Then, cancel the obligation. At this point, it’s probably best not to reschedule.
3. Review your schedule and see if there are any appointments that can be moved to a better time. An early morning appointment might be more manageable as a lunch meeting.
4. Identify the obligation on your schedule that is causing you the most dread, and make a plan to eliminate or reduce the stress surrounding it in the future. Knowing that something you dislike will be minimized in the near future often makes it easier to address in the present.

None of these steps will completely eliminate stress, but hopefully they will help to reduce it to a manageable level. Once you feel that things are back under control, you can start to say “yes” to non-essential obligations again, if that is what you wish to do.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland's Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

http://bit.ly/h5beSQ

Focus on Success, not Failure

In his book, "Now, Discover Your Strengths", Donald Clifton talks about the importance of spending your time and energies developing your strengths rather than trying to overcome your weaknesses. Focusing on your strengths defines success, focusing on your weaknesses defines failure. Doesn't it make more sense to focus on success?