Convincing Yourself to be Productive Every Day

Posted by Jacques - May 13, 2009

PD*26677822 Slackers tend to have this kind of disease that is both a blessing and a curse. We try to live life to its maximum enjoyment but it is often self defeating. People to this day have no idea of the kind of struggle it is for me to get up and do something. I know I have to be productive, but I often never take even the first step towards it.

Procrastination and laziness are my sworn enemies.

Here are the steps that get me mentally prepped for completing tasks.

1. Instill a sense of urgency.
The biggest problem is that I believe in my heart I will do something, I just haven’t figure out when or how. It’s important to remind yourself that things have an expiration before they start to blow up in your face. If you have a strong memory of being completely screwed by not doing something that was completely do-able like your taxes, or watching your child’s play, or not being late for your exam, then use that as a motivator.

2. Create a reward.
Usually for me, avoiding disaster and the thought of more laziness and relaxation are enough to get me going, but sometimes, it has to be more concrete. Pairing rewards and consequences , if I do this, I can eat out tonight, if I don’t, I have to cook dinner.

3. Create a consequence.
Although you may have already thought about this with the previous two steps, it is extremely important to make sure that you know what will happen if you don’t do something.

4. Make it easy.
At this point, it either becomes easier or harder. If you haven’t been able to do it yet, then there is something stronger still holding you back. One of things we may perceive is that it is more difficult than it actually is. Walk through it, think of ways to make the task easier or shorter in duration. Not only will it give you confidence to perform the task, but it will make it easier the hundreds or thousands of times you have to do a similar task in the future.

5. Take one step.
If you haven’t left yet to do your task, it may be inertia keeping you in place. Just commit yourself to one step. If it’s washing the dishes, I’ll commit to putting everything in the sink, or if it’s a document for work, I’ll commit to an outline and a title. Even if you truly can’t perform the task to its fullest, you’ve at least started and made progress.

6. Act without thinking if you must.
By now it could also be thinking that is holding you back. Try not thinking at all and just jumping into the task.

7. Nag yourself.
Although our parents, mates, and bosses nag us enough, there are things that they don’t even nag us about because they don’t know that we have to do them. For those types of things I’ve found creative ways to nag myself. Put stickies in the middle of the TV or computer monitor. Wrap your cell phone in an envelope labeled with that important task and seal it. Technology is also there for you in this area, as calendar reminders are also great tools.

8. Do something else productive.
Finally, there are just some times when we mentally or physically cannot perform the task. For these times, start back again at number 1 with some other task that will at least help pave the way for the one you could not do.

Anything you like? Please share!

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