Easily distracted during your working day?
When asked to do a task that doesn’t invoke our natural enthusiasm, we can become obsessed with smaller or non relevant tasks in order to avoid the pain of having to do something we don’t want to do.
Ever had one of those days?
I remember my manager at the time, asking to do a task. For some reason, making sure the pencils on my desk were sharp was more important to me. The pencils had to be done before I was ready to do the task I was asked to do. Wouldn’t you know it, the pencil sharpener on my desk wasn’t good enough. So, I had to source one from a colleague who just so happened to need help with something just as trivial but of course if she was helping me I would need to help her.
On the way back to my desk with said pencil sharpener, it was a convenient time to make a coffee. I had to walk past the tea room anyway and needed to have a quick word with another manager who was also making a coffee. I finally got back to my desk with half a cup of coffee, now lukewarm, without the pencil sharpener. Blast. I’d have to go back and get it as it wasn’t mine. I’m a stickler for taking care of other peoples possessions as I would want them to take care of mine.
So, back to the coffee room I went. Obviously had to have a top up and nearly burned myself on a fresh cup of coffee which went everywhere. Needless to say, I had to clean up my mess. I got back to the desk, coffee cup full and hot with said pencil sharpener in hand. Now I could sharpen the pencils. After that I would get on the with the task I was meant to do.
The email notification popped up on my computer screen. I’d better check it just in case it was from my line manager. Thankfully it wasn’t. Five more emails were waiting to be opened. None of them had anything to do with my task. I looked up at the clock and it was lunchtime. To cut an even longer story short, I didn’t get the task done.
How did I get over my procrastination?
In my new book The Path To Learning I show you in detail how to overcome procrastination and get ahead in your learning journey without allowing distractions to hold you back. Having a plan to reduce the distractions in your day will lower stress levels and increase productivity. Completing tasks also improves your enthusiasm to complete other tasks. This habit over spills into other areas of life improving your relationships.
The key to achieving a task is to get started. As a famous author once said, the only way to write a book is to start writing. Procrastination is a dream killer. Get rid of your distractions ahead of time and get on with the task at hand.
