The Key to Productivity
Do you remember the last time you were faced with a task that you didn’t particularly enjoy? Do you remember what you did? If you completed the task, it’s because you started working on it and didn’t stop until the job was done.
“Starting” is the key to productivity.
When you have difficulty starting, the task waits. If the wait is excessive, you may end up working under pressure to finish the job. This is not a good way to work, since working under pressure creates more stress for you and for those around you.
It also increases chances for mistakes, since the tight timeline leaves little room to correct things that may go wrong. In fact, when you work under pressure like this, you almost always produce an inferior product.
There are many reasons why people have difficulty getting started with tasks, but here are some considerations to help you push yourself to start.
If you are resisting starting on that project because you feel your outcome may not be what you expect, remember that risk is inherent in everything we do. And even if you do fail in achieving your outcome, you will have come away with a valuable learning experience.
Is overwhelm your enemy? Break up the overwhelming task into small manageable tasks. Then start working on the small pieces, one at a time, until completion. By breaking the task into small parts, it helps alleviate overwhelm.
“Paralysis by analysis” applies to those who need to have everything be perfect all the time and because of that, may never get started. To help you overcome this perfectionist approach, just start! Just starting will create the momentum needed to follow-through on the task.
When boredom creeps into your work, you will avoid doing it. This only creates more work because we tend to work on our “waiting” pile when our energy is lowest. To overcome boredom, just start on the task. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can return to more interesting work.
Do you enjoy working under pressure? If so, you probably put things off until the last minute. This creates more stress not only for you, but for others, as well. And this also increases the chances for mistakes, leaving no time for their correction. In fact, working under pressure almost always results in an inferior product. Give yourself lots of time for the task and start working on it on time, not at the last minute.
Use good time management techniques such as the above to push yourself to be more productive. And when you do, you will notice a considerable gain in free time in your days. That’s definitely something worth starting, isn’t it?
