Your Organizing Coach

Decisions Move the World

I write a lot about decision making. So much of clutter and other stuff that's in your way is the result of not making decisions about it. The pile of needed decisions keeps growing till you just get overwhelmed by it and then the simplest decision seems strenuous. That naturally induces procrastination.

Why decide? Here's why:

• When you don't decide, others do it for you. Are they going to pick the choice you want? Uh-uh.
• The longer you wait to decide, the more likely your desired option(s) will expire or otherwise go away
• When you avoid deciding to keep your options open, you still don't have that thing you want. You just have the option to have it. Would you rather have the daydream or the real thing?
• When you boldly make decisions, you stir up positive energy. You take action. You move. You pull it off.

Decision making is a skill you can learn. I'm almost ready to publish my new info program about decision making and habit building, where I teach you both those vital skills. So, stay tuned, or drop me a line in the comments. What can I help you with today?

Diving board from vauvau's photostream.

Quick Tips for Beating Procrastination

Got a project that's bogged down? Finding it hard to get started at all? Here are some ideas:

• Break your project down into steps. Now, divide the steps into even smaller pieces. Keep dividing until you get to a piece small enough that it seems easy to do. Then do just that piece.
• Start your project somewhere in the middle or at the end. It can be easier to fill in backwards once you get going. Think of what you know how to do right now.
• Begin with the part you like best. When you're really into the project and making good progress, use that motivation to complete the less appealing parts of it as you go along.
• Have several projects going at once. Procrastination on one can mean progress on another. If you do switch back and forth, make notes about what you’ve done already and what the next step is. That way you can get up to speed quickly the next time you work on the project.
• Try "structured procrastination."  Trick yourself by putting tasks that seem to have deadlines and seem very important at the top of the list.  Then allow yourself to procrastinate by doing the other tasks on the list first

Steps from judepics's photostream

Tricks to Motivate You

I answered a question on Linked In today about whether it's possible to become more disciplined. My answer wasn't really about discipline though, because that word turns me off. It makes me think of following rules, being punished if I don't, rigidity and fear. Ick.

So my answer was about motivation instead. And tricks. Fun ways to get yourself to do stuff. 

If the end result of your work is something you really, really want, it's not hard to get motivated. If you don't want the result, why bother? Whatever project you're putting off, trace it back and find out what the original motivation was and whether it's still valid. 

If it's valid and you still don't want to do it, pay someone else to do it! Or, try some of these tricks.

• Work on your project for just two minutes. Use a timer. If you get inspired, keep going. If not, you got two minutes worth done, more than you had before.
• Imagine the day is over and you're looking back over what you got done. What will make you feel like you got something really worthwhile accomplished? Then, do that thing.
• Make a "Not To Do" list. Put anything that you're not getting around to and that can go undone without the planet exploding. Keep the list somewhere safe. This tells your brain that it can forget about those things and relieves you of that mental clutter.

  What tricks do you use to get yourself going and stay on task? 

Rabbit out of a Hat from laneesque's photostream.

Why I Procrastinate

Why do I procrastinate? Yes, I do it too! I distinguish between taking personal time and actual procrastination (which is an essential skill for solopreneurs), but procrastination does happen.

When I'm procrastinating it's usually because I think I won't do a good job or I think I'll outright fail at something. So, it's fear, mostly. When I'm trying to think of something to write on this blog, I reject lots of ideas because they seem too obvious or I don't think I have anything interesting to say about them.

I don't like to fail or to be wrong. No one does. I have to take myself by the hand and reassure my scared little self that if I don't do anything, that's another way of failing, so why not "just do it"?

What's the worst that could happen? That people will think I'm stupid and irrelevant. Actually, what's even worse is that no one will pay attention to me! Again, if I don't give them the opportunity to ignore me, I also don't give them the chance to read something that might interest them.

Being more objective about my task helps me. As a professional organizer, it's part of my job to write posts that help people. I do it because it's my job, not because I want people to like me (okay, I do want that, but I can't focus on it). I can't help all of the people all of the time, but I know that some of my ideas are good and will help some people. That's enough.

Other reasons to procrastinate: you prefer thinking up ideas to doing the actual work, you don't want to be controlled by others ("you can't make me!"), you always put the needs of others before your own, or you can't get going until you're in crisis mode.

How do you procrastinate and what do you do about it? I don't think it's possible to completely avoid doing it; just learn to recognize it and fix it. We all need little tricks up our sleeves to get going again.

Hand holding from dino_olivieri's photostream.

Autofocus with the Master List

The master list is one of my favorite tools. I love making lists and I usually make them by hand in a notebook because they're simpler to work with.

Time management coach Mark Forster is a man after my own heart. He's written several books about personal effectiveness and he's now sharing his Autofocus system on his website for free.

The Autofocus system is simply what I described above, one very long list in a notebook that you keep adding to and crossing off of. The cool thing about this system is that it doesn't involve prioritizing. Forster asserts that as you scan the list, you'll be able to select the important items naturally, using the "balance between the rational and intuitive parts of your mind."

This is really important bedcuase so much of procrastination results from just not really wanting to do things. People do what they do. If They don't want to do a particular thing, they just won't, no matter how "important" they've decided it is. This system forces you to be honest with yourself and either favorably recast (meaning figure out a way to achieve the same goal in a way that you prefer) or delete the to do's that aren't getting done.

List from Carissa GoodNCrazy's photostream.

Are You an Overdoer Procrastinator?

This is the second part of my series on Linda Sapadin's six procrastination styles, based on her book, It's About Time! Last year I wrote about perfectionism. Today's style is overdoing. The other styles are the dreamer, the defier, the worrier and the crisis-maker.

People who are overdoers:

• feel they have to do more work than others to prove themselves, even if it's too much to handle
• hate to say no or ask for help, again from a desire for approval and respect
• spread themselves too thin, causing them to have to work even harder
• let their work rule their time so that personal needs and relationships are put on hold
• have a hard time relaxing without feeling guilty or ashamed

Now, how do you go about changing those habits? Dr. Sapadin writes that overdoers often have low self-esteem and overwork to compensate for it. In my view, they also let their lives be controlled by external forces.

A good place to start in overcoming overdoing is to bring yourself back to your own goals, your own vision of how you want to live. Take a clear, hard look at all that you do and be honest about whether each activity is fulfilling to you or something you're doing for approval, image or obligation.

Here are Dr. Sapadin's suggestions:

• Accept that you can't "have it all." You're not superwoman or superman and that's fine.
• Remember that life is an adventure, not a struggle. We all have different capacities for work; when you exceed yours it starts to be drudgery instead of exciting.
• Distinguish between what you believe is important to do versus what others want, or what you "should" be doing
• Don't depend on others for approval. This gets easier the more you reaffirm your own goals and desires.
• Remember that ultimately it's you who decides how to spend your time. You aren't really a victim of other people or circumstances, so take back your control.
• Write leisure time into your schedule so you'll remember to take a break!

House of cards from vincegiantesano's photostream

Rename Your Junk Drawer

It's time to rehabilitate the much-maligned junk drawer. In the unlikely event that you don't have one, this is a drawer, usually in the kitchen, that acts as a catch-all for small items and pieces of other items that you don't have time to put away or don't know where to put.

People are often embarrassed to admit that they have junk drawers, but I say using a drawer for this purpose is a heck of a lot better than letting those doohickeys clutter up the rest of the house. Also, sometimes it doesn't make sense to figure out where else to put something, such as a screw or foot that came off something recently, you just need to remember what.

Many things in the junk drawer really are just junk, or they become junk after a certain amount of time. So, the idea is to rename this receptacle the "ripening drawer." This gives you a way to think about what's in there as green, ripe or rotten. The green items are still waiting to become useful, the ripe ones are useful now, and the rotten ones have lost their usefulness and need to be tossed.

What else goes in a ripening drawer? Semi used batteries, match books (particularly ones with something written on them), take out menus, coupons, business cards, the aforementioned pieces of things that need to be reunited, etc.

Every time you look in there, rummage around and see if you can find some rotten stuff; expired coupons, leaking batteries and parts of things you now realize you've thrown away. This is a good technique if you have a hard time tossing stuff in the moment. Once a little time passes, it's easier to make that decision.

Beautiful fruit from Gilgongo's photostream

Procrastination Strategies

"Talk of the Nation" did a show about procrastination recently featuring psychology professor Timothy Pychyl and philosophy professor John Perry. I read Perry's funny article about structured procrastination several years ago and I still laugh every time I read it. Not only that, it's a good strategy!

A very interesting point that Pychyl brought up is that there's no evidence of the "arousal procrastinator," that is, people who work best under pressure and let things wait until the last minute. Arousal types are characterized by extroversion, sensation-seeking and reducing/augmenting behavior (of desired emotional states).

Lots of people believe that they do their best working right up to the deadline but apparently, that's just an illusion. It can also be learned behavior, if that's the only way a person has ever approached deadlines.

Another fascinating finding has to do with procrastination and self-forgiveness. A study to discover whether people would procrastinate less the next time if they forgave themselves for the current instance found that, yes, it did work that way.

The unexpected result was that this was much more true for the women in the study. One theory is that "procrastination is related to self-worth or self-esteem for females but not males." Who knew?

A third interesting point Pychyl made is that all delay is not procrastination. It's only procrastination when you set an intention to do something by a particular time. So, there's your loophole...

[photo by ShereenM]

Conquering Perfectionism

I wrote about perfectionism back in December, but it's a topic that comes up a lot, with clients and in everyday conversation, so I'm addressing it again.

This time I'm going to quote from a great book about procrastination called It's About Time by Dr. Linda Sapadin. Perfectionism is one of six ways that she identifies as procrastination styles. The others are dreaming, worrying, defying, crisis making and overdoing.

I won't go into what makes a perfectionist procrastinate because you probably already know! Instead, I'll paraphrase what Dr. Sapadin suggests to get over it.

• Do some creative visualization. Perfectionists are often tense. Use the visualization to show yourself that everything is fine, including you.
• Realize that the rest of the world can't live up to your high standards. Then realize that you can't either, because they're impossibly high
• "Strive for excellence rather than perfection." Focus on excellence and you'll focus on results. Focus on perfection and you'll get lost in all the tiny details before you can get to the results.
• Stay with what's realistic, not what's ideal. There are many ways to achieve any result and your choice may be informed by time and resources available. If you're realistic about that, you can still achieve excellence.
• Don't think in terms of "all or nothing." Life is not a pass/fail course. Give up rigid ways of thinking for more creative possibilities.

See if any of these techniques work for you. Try to resist trying each, in the order presented, even if you are a perfectionist!

Not Ready to Get Organized?

Are you using "I need to get organized" as a smoke screen? You could be doing that without even realizing it. 

Think about this: what would your life be like if you were already organized? If those boxes were all cleared out of the back closet, if all the Christmas gear were not still on the guest room bed, if those shopping bags of paper weren't crowding your knees under the desk? After you finish basking in the wonderful feeling of accomplishment, you would realize that you now have no excuse not to start on ... The Big Project.

Many of us have a Big Project (and sometimes getting organized IS the Big Project) that we should do, even want to do, but are putting off for some reason. Maybe it's too big or too scary or too hard. Maybe it will make us realize something that we don't really want to know. Maybe we will have to make some changes that will be difficult.

Relax, nobody's going to make you do anything. If you're not ready, that's fine. Just don't let the smoke get in your eyes.