We all have those items on our to do list that remain determinedly undone. Day after day you think ‘ I really must do x or y’ and yet by bedtime you haven’t managed to do them. Often this is because the tasks are seen as boring or as things that will take hours to do. I have all kinds of favourite excuses such as :
- I ran out of time
- I really will do it tomorrow..
- I’m too tired
- I’ll have a cup of coffee and then I’ll do it
- If only I had got up earlier
I was putting off a number of small tasks recently until I suddenly remembered some good exam advice I was given years ago which was to do the hardest question first and wondered if it would work for Procrasticlutter (great word, invented by A Slob comes Clean). The chores I had been putting off included deadheading the pot plants, taking the holiday suitcases back up to the loft and phoning for a doctor’s appointment.
I decided I would do one task first thing every day with NO excuses! And it worked. What was a real eye-opener was that each chore only took 5 minutes or less. So much for the ‘I ran out of time’ excuse. Now all the perceived painful tasks are done, my decluttering halo is shiny and back in place. An added bonus is that the rest of the day seems so much better when you have done the difficult thing and realise that you no longer have to do it! Try it – your future self will thank you for it.
