Perfect Self-Management in 52 Weeks: Unfinished Business

My mother was always extremely enthusiastic at the beginning of projects but her drive pooped out toward the end. She even had a “funeral box” full of darling, ¾-finished dolls, sewn and knitted crafts and the like. It didn’t seem to bother her that they just sat there but I always took them home, thinking I would finish up these beautiful creations.

I didn’t.

Years ago, I had a piano teacher who would reprimand her students for not finishing up a musical phrase in the best way. “Finish your phrase form” was her mantra for music and for life.

Many people suffer from severe and chronic disorganization. Needed items at work and home get buried in piles of clutter. Bills don't get paid. Projects go unfinished. Tax returns don’t get done. Jobs are lost, careers flounder. Intelligent, creative, and otherwise successful individuals are plagued with chronic feelings of being overwhelmed and exhausted. As many of these folks can tell you, their lives don't simply feel out of control, they are out of control.

Organizational strategies are essential for managing symptoms of disorganization. A healthy and realistic goal is not to become super-organized, but simply to make work and home life more manageable.

Many problems that result in low productivity are due to failures in planning, prioritizing and following through on tasks. Those ever-present feelings of being overwhelmed and exhausted come from a myriad of half-completed projects and laid-aside to-do's.

Two basic strategies that help are to put routine essentials - laundry, washing dishes, general cleaning - on a set schedule, and maintain a prioritized list for comparatively incidental tasks. The one requirement for completing essential routine chores is that they must be done at regular and consistent times.

The lack of consistent follow-through required to complete tasks is caused by symptoms of excessive procrastination and forgetfulness. There is no way to establish any degree of consistency with routine tasks unless those tasks become part of a regular schedule. Draw up a weekly schedule with set times blocked out for basic housekeeping work. Use shorter or longer time slots to fit your level of patience and frustration tolerance, but the one essential requirement is that these times must be kept consistent.

Larger projects or tasks are more manageable when they're "chunked" by breaking them up into smaller pieces and scheduling each piece a realistic amount of time. Writing a paper, completing a project for work, or cleaning out the basement are some tasks that fall in this category. Start by setting a firm deadline for completion. Estimate the total amount of time you'll likely need, then work backward from the deadline and carve out time slots for completing each "chunk." Many people are notoriously poor in judging how much time activities actually take. If this is true for you, after estimating the duration of a project, multiply the number by 1.5.

The strategies and routines discussed here provide ideas for getting started.

Take note of each task you work on during the day and note your excuses for not finishing up. Here are some common ones:

Don’t have time to finish my project. If you run out of time,  add 15 minutes to your morning routine before leaving for work. To stay organized and keep track of time on the job, add on the same 15 minutes to finish up last-minute assignments and to gather items you will need to take home.

Too tired to finish my project. You just want to sit down (or lie down). Figure out ways to get to bed on time. You may be overbooked, so you need to cut back to save energy for more important tasks.

Don’t feel like finishing my project. If you are short on motivation, schedule a task to be done when you have more energy. For example, leaving paper filing to do at the end of the day. The result? A desk that's a mess. By switching the task to the morning, you might be more consistent with your filing, and your office is less messy. 

Breaking the last “step” into tiny micro-steps might help you break the motivation block. Do one of the tiny steps at your more energetic times. Try to get in as many of the micro-steps each day as you can.

Here are 5 ways to dramatically increase your productivity:

FINISH WHAT YOU START – Look at each task that you take on as a circle.  You are not a creator of semi-circles, but rather a creator of beautifully round circles.  When you start a task, follow it through until it is finished (the circle is complete).  Commit to doing this with every task that you start.

PUSH THROUGH THE BORING OR CHALLENGING PARTS – It is either boredom or difficulty that usually causes us to put a task on the shelf and start another task. Every task has its fair share of boring aspects and challenges.  When you find yourself shying away from these, become aware of it and push through to complete the task.

FINISH TODAY’S TASKS, DON’T PUT THEM OFF – It is very important to commit to finishing the tasks that you set for yourself TODAY, today.  Remember that tomorrow is filled with tomorrow’s tasks so if you put off today’s tasks until tomorrow, you will only be delaying tomorrows tasks and this has a serious knock on effect on your whole life, with the ultimate affect being that you are putting off the achievement of your goals.

BE DISCIPLINED WITH WHAT YOU START – You need to become disciplined with what tasks you take on first and then be disciplined to see them through until they are completed.  This takes effort and commitment as it is always tempting to jump around performing less important or more interesting tasks.  Do what is most important first and finish it before moving on.

BANISH DISTRACTIONS – The average person gets 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or approximately 7 an hour, or 50-60 per day. The average interruption takes 5 minutes, totaling about 4 hours or 50% of the average workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as “little value” or “no value” creating approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day. If you are serious about completing tasks and increasing your productivity, you need to become the Gate Keeper for distractions.  You need to set rules about distractions so that they don’t constantly steal your precious time away from you and reduce your productivity – for example – set specific times of the day for checking emails/social media, set specific times of the day for visitors/meetings etc

To dramatically increase your productivity, it is so important to finish what you start.  Don’t be a semi-circlist!

Organizing Things

PICK A SPOT:

Lost keys, bills, documents-these are the bane of life for many people. Odds-and-ends and needed items are buried in piles, causing hours of wasted search time and mounting aggravation. The basic rule for keeping track of possessions is that every item needs a "home." Keys go on the key hook, located just inside the front door, and are never stored in a jacket pocket or on the dresser. Wallets, watches, purses and other frequently used items go on a tray or other open container on the bedroom dresser or a desk. Put the designated objects only in this container, not where the object just happens to be removed.

STORING OR PURGING:

Limit sentimental attachments to a few prized possessions-to protect against an infestation by the "pack-rat syndrome."  When there isn't room to provide an item with its own "home" location, it belongs in one of three places:

* the trash bin

* a give-away bin for materials to be donated

* a long-term storage bin in a long-term storage location. (NO! An empty corner in a bedroom is not a long-term storage location! And I am not a fan of paying for storage facilities anyway.)

IN VIEW IN THE ROOM:

Due to distractibility and forgetfulness, many adults have a huge problem keeping track of what's not in plain sight (also known as “out of sight, out of mind”). Vertical filing systems, such as an open bookcase, work better than closed file cabinets. Use transparent plastic containers in your bedroom closet, garage, or other storage places.

Overcoming The Resistance

Are you one of those people who bristle at adhering to schedules and routines? Do structured activities start to feel like unpleasant obligations, or being boxed up? Fighting through this resistance requires not biting off more than you can chew. Change one behavior at a time, and do it in small enough increments to make it tolerable. You are simply constructing a useful habit.

A helpful technique is to add as much entertainment value as possible to a scheduled activity. Play music while cleaning or doing dishes. Help stick to a workout schedule by exercising with a friend. Seek support from family and friends, or consider working with a professional organizer or personal coach. Reward yourself in some way for a job well done.

Visualize the positive changes and benefits that will come from improved organization, and stick with the plan. It can take months and years to develop routines and build new habits, but the payoffs are more than worth the investment.

Day 1: If distractions keep you from finishing your project, ignore interruptions until a task is completed. When your partner or collegue makes a non-urgent request, say, “I’m in the middle of something right now, I’ll check in with you afterwards.” Lock your door, put up a "Please don't disturb" sign, wear ear plugs.

Today, finish the most important task from your list. At least, finish one micro-task. Find a place to work undisturbed. Or threaten anyone who dares interrupt you!

Day 2: Find a better system to finish your projects. 
If a system doesn’t work, try a new one. If you are late in paying bills, or forget them, designate two nights each month -- the 1st and 15th -- to follow through. Keep everything you need in a basket or container: the unpaid bills, checkbook, pen, envelopes, return-address stickers, and a roll of stamps. Walk the bills to the mailbox. And look, you've finished a project! 

Today, construct an easy and rather (!) attractive system for finishing up one of the tasks in your "funeral box". Now, follow through!


Day 3: Tie the bow
Make “tie the bow” your mantra. You are not finished wrapping a package until you tie the bow, and you aren’t done with a task until you’ve completed it, down to the last step. Mail the check for the bill you just paid, don’t leave it on the kitchen counter. Fold and put away the laundry, don’t leave it in the basket. 

"Tie the bow" at least twice today.

Day 4: THE TOP 3 TASK LIST

This strategy really does help with remembering, planning and prioritizing. To use it most effectively, maintain separate task lists for work and home.

* At the top of each list, write the Top 3 tasks to be worked on first.

* Draw a line under those three.

* Work only on the Top 3 tasks. It's all right to jump around between them, but stay focused only on these priority tasks.

* When a Top 3 task is completed, replace it with another task from the Top 3 list.

* Repeat the process.
 Today, start a Top 3 Task List. Make sure you get the first task done. Don't poop out, don't give up. Train your self-discipline muscles!

Day5: Follow-Through-Friday

You might officially start having “Follow Through Fridays”.  The goal is to get as many of the Top 3 Tasks done as possible before leaving for the weekend. Follow through completely and celebrate exuberantly!












Now you are ready for a great weekend. You have followed through this week so now it is time to chill. Unless your partner has a new project for you...