Working from home, I have two things on my plate but I can’t seem to start them. Instead, I’m shopping for the perfect gym bag with some recent birthday money. Wait, have I done Wordle today? I think I need another cup of coffee. Dammit, why can’t I get started!?!
Pretty soon the workday is done, and I haven’t made any of the professional gains that I had planned on for the day. Like me, you’ve probably been in a funk like this before. What can we do about it? I need to figure out something soon. Time is precious. If I could lay out the time I had left in some way like my memory works for the time that has passed, would I be as apt to waste it?
For the remainder of the week, I will use a tactic I’ve heard about before, and that is to list out my tasks that need finished identifying two really important ones. I’ll make sure to get these accomplished, and then allow myself a scheduled break.
That won’t do. I need to take time to identify what it is that triggers the laziness and distractions, and make a plan on how to deal with that trigger. Each morning, I am responsible for a process that sometimes is done by 9:30, but sometimes takes until afternoon. When it doesn’t get done by 9:30 or 10, it becomes dependent on another process out of my control. It is during this lull, that I give myself an “excuse” that this process needs finished before I do anything else.
So, I’ll read some news, surf the web, and inevitibly waste this time rather than use it wisely. My plan to deal with this is to establish a different reaction to this trigger. Did the process change hands this morning? No longer in your control? It is time to work through that module you’ve been putting off!
Losing productivity is a battle many of us deal with. We must continue coming back to the methods that have worked before. Let’s read that book/chapter again. Let’s get back on track.
The Shaw Show 