Breaking the procrastination habit with a time log

Do you remember when you were a kid and you were given homework. Depending on the subject you either did it straight away or you stuffed it in the bottom of your bag and hoped the teacher would forget. Have you noticed that as we get older, we're just the same as those snotty teenage kids we were then? We really do do those things we enjoy but struggle to start those things we know we have to do, just don't want to do.
 
So we put things off until the last minute. We know we will have to start it at some point, just not today. Then what happens, we come to the point where we either do it or suffer embarrassment or worse by not having completed the darn thing. So we start the job (whatever it is) and then what happens, we keep going until the job is completed. We know that if necessary we will throw an all-nighter in order to complete the task.
 
But what happens then? Do we learn from our mistakes? Do we work out that if we had in fact started the item when we were asked rather than adding it to the list of other things we don't want to do, we wouldn't have ended up stressed and worried that we would be found out. Nope. Instead of completing that task and then working out which one of the other distasteful items we should tackle next, we slide straight back into our slow down mode. If you were serious about getting on with the tasks in hand you would complete one task then work out which one you are going to be doing next and start it...but we don't.
 
You tell yourself that you will work better next time, you'll start the projects sooner, you won't leave things to the last minute. So you sit back and rest after a job well done!! You go and make yourself a cup of coffee, read the paper or do whatever you do when you are not doing what you should be doing.
 
OK, I do know that we cannot work at full capacity for 24 hours a day. But in reality how many of your working hours are actually productive? How many times a day do you check your email? How much "research" do you do? How much research do you actually need to do?
 
Today I am going to ask you do keep a time log. Have you ever had to keep a timesheet? Well this is slightly different, because you are going to be making a note of the task that you do and how long it took you to do it. Now I am not asking to see it, I am not going to be marking you out of 10, this is up to you. If you really want to know where you spend your time and how you can get more out of every day then you need to know where you are currently spending your time.
 
No matter what the task is, I want you to make a note of it in your note book or on a sheet of paper. I use an excel spreadsheet marked with 15 minute slots, but its up to you which method you choose. Each day for a week make a note of the jobs and the time.
 
What happens then?
 
Would you believe me if I told you this was self regulating? Well it is. Because once you realise how you spend your time each and every day of the week you will begin to see how you can beat the procrastination cycle.
 
Do you spend 10 minutes each morning catching up on the latest goings on in the various soaps that you watch? How many cups of coffee do you make each day? How many do you actually drink? How long do you spend surfing the net or reading emails? How many of them are work related?
 
Now if you are struggling with weight at the same time, make a note every time you eat something - can you tie your eating patterns in with the jobs that you are doing? Are you eating because you are bored? Are you eating because you really don't want to do a distasteful job? We find many ways to delay doing tasks and jobs and eating and drinking are two of the biggest time wasters we can use.
 
Try it you will be amazed, if not a little embarrased by your lack of real productivity. Of course it is up to you what you do with all that extra time you find !! A tip, do the jobs you dislike first so that you have something to look forward to. If you do it the other way around I can guarantee you will find ways of delaying the nasty jobs even further.
 
As a gift to you - gee thanks - I've supplied a copy of the time log that I use. If you are on the computer as much as I am, I find it a simple task to open the log first thing in the morning and keep adding to it during the day. But the choice as they say is yours. I just know that this works for me, I hope you try it. If you haven't claimed your copy yet, you will find it under the Downloads and Free Stuff Page.