You may have items on your to-do list that linger. Before you call yourself a “procrastinator” with all the loaded connocations entailed, stop! There may be a simple fix…
Casey’s eTip: Find the Pre-Task to Overcome Technical Procrastination
People perceive “procrastinating” as a character issue or even identity. Many times it’s just a to-do list that doesn’t set you up for success. When we repeatedly skip over a to-do, it’s often because it hasn’t been broken into a bite-sized piece or it requires a pre-step. I call this “technical procrastination.” The image above (which you may have to click ‘download’ to see) gives examples of two tasks that got repeatedly overlooked. There was a reason: Before Jon can call Jan, he needs to review the numbers and list his questions (THAT’s a more accurate to-do list item). Before he orders the lawnmower, he needs to ask his spouse for the coupon he thought they had. What pre-steps does your to-do list need?
This eTip brought to you by the Task/Project Management link in your Productivity Chain.