Have a useful to-do list, where you only write down the very next actions. This way you can move through it quickly.

MAKE A TASTY TO-DO LIST

How often do you find yourself in the middle of work when your suddenly overcome with the desire to do something else, something non-work related, something has distracted you and grabbed your attention.Mann suggests rather than giving into that desire right then and there, write it down. Create a distraction to-do list that contains all the things you want to do. This way, you don’t have to worry that you might forget about it later.

DISTRACTION TO-DO LISTs

All you need to do is commit to sitting down at your desk (butt-in-chair) for a certain amount of time each day. Ensure that you have no distractions, put your phone on silent, turn off email notifications and just work.

MANN’S BUTT-IN-CHAIR METHOD

Telling yourself (or others) that you “can’t” do something impresses upon the mind that you would very much like to do the thing in question but you’re denying yourself of it.The word can’t is damaging, however, the word don’t, according to Mann, is empowering. Consider the sentence; “I can’t drink alcohol” versus the statement “I don’t drink alcohol.” The word don’t implies that you make a conscious decision not to do something.

CAN’T VS. DON’T

<ol><li>Decide when you need to complete the task, consider when it’s due and how much time you’ll need to complete this.</li><li>Block out the appropriate amount of time to work on the task, do this on a calendar, physical or online. Be generous with your time slot, sometimes tasks take longer than expected.</li><li>When you reach the time to work on the task, eliminate all distractions so you can focus purely on the task at hand. [Close any internet browsers, shut down your emails and put your phone onto silent.]</li></ol>

TIME BLOCKS

"When Olympians use visualisation as a tool, they don’t visualise standing on the highest spot on the podium triumphantly holding aloft their gold medal. What they do instead is visualise the race, the process of winning gold, not the outcome."

Implement the 2-minute rule, if it takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it right away.

TWO MINUTES

Use deadlines as a motivator, whether someone else sets them for you or you set them yourself, create a consequence for things that aren’t done.

DEADLINES CAN BE POWERFUL

Find a way to balance the satisfaction of getting things done and pursuing your biggest and most ambitious goals by setting ‘macro goals’ and ‘micro quotas'.

MACRO GOALS & MICRO QUOTAS

Don’t consider a project as an entirety, just focus on the next small task involved in making some progress.

THE NEXT ACTION HABIT

Mann notes just how common it is for people to feel that they are extremely productive when on flights, particularly business flights. People question why this is, but to Mann, it’s clear. Absolutely no distractions. No wi-fi, no texts, no calls, no pesky meetings, no shared office morning teas. Just you and your work.There’s no need to wait until your next flight to feel that productive. You can create the environment you need anytime you like. Have a day away from the office (and all those pesky interruptions), put on an out-of-office automatic reply and turn all of your devices onto airplane mode.

AIRPLANE DAYS

Consider outsourcing menial tasks that are repetitive and boring to you.

OUTSOURCING

”Productive people tend to stay productive. Or, as they say, nothing succeeds like success.”

The more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to find yourself procrastinating. If you’re someone with a high-intelligence, you’re able to see the repercussions of any task, you realise that it might be boring or difficult, therefore, you put it off for something that might be more stimulating.So it’s the over-thinking of any task that leads us to procrastinate, if only we could all just begin work on a task without conceptualising what it will entail.

INTELLIGENT PEOPLE PROCRASTINATE MORE

﻿”To stop procrastinating, shift your focus from the overwhelming immensity of the entire forest to just a single tree."

Instead of giving up on work altogether, shift your focus to easy, simple tasks that still need to be done but won’t take up much brain power. Whether it be returning a phone call, reading some emails or even just tidying your desk.

CAN YOU PROCRASTINATE PRODUCTIVELY?

Momentum is important, once you get started working, it’s easier to continue. So just start!

MOMENTUM IS KEY

It involved setting out a 60-minute period and focusing on work.First, set a timer on your computer or watch or phone for 10 minutes. For 10 minutes you can work on the given task, with no distractions.When the 10 minutes is up, take a 2-minute brain break, then back to work.

MANN’S (10+2)X5 METHOD

Visualize the steps necessary to reach the outcome.

VISUALISATION

It’s easy to want everything to be perfect, all of the time, but in reality, nothing is perfect. You can learn new skills, develop, grow and thrive, but you’ll still never be perfect. And it’s time to accept that.Doing nothing is the worst case scenario. It’s always better to be doing something, anything.

STOP BEING A PERFECTIONIST

A round-up of useful sources to refer to when willpower gets low.

books

Books

problemsolving

Problem Solving

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

timemanagement

Time Management

Beat Procrastination

Imagine stress-free productivity. Imagine guilt-free relaxation. Do you feel like you can't get yourself to do anything? Do you hate yourself for procrastinating? Do you find it impossible to relax because of the frustration and guilt that comes with procrastination? If you struggle with procrastination, then this book is your blueprint for crushing procrastination once and for all. 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks: How to Stop Being Lazy, Overcome Procrastination, and Finally Get Stuff Done teaches you how to quickly and painlessly beat the urge to procrastinate, letting you enjoy life guilt-free. Learn how to easily get yourself spurred into working Imagine if you could painlessly get work done when you need to, and then relax free of guilt afterwards. Well, guess what? 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks teaches you how to do just that. You will learn... How a racist church can help you get things done--fast! How to make a "tasty" to-do list that makes getting things done *gasp* enjoyable. Why getting started is the hardest part of overcoming procrastination (and 4 foolproof techniques to painlessly kickstart your productivity). And much more! Equip yourself with procrastination-proof methods for finally getting that work done by grabbing your copy of 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks today. Finally, beat the urge to procrastinate. What if you could crush those feelings of laziness? Well, guess what? You can! You're about to discover... The ONE word you should be saying that kills the urge to procrastinate. (Backed by science.) Why visualizing success actually leads to procrastination (and how to visualize the RIGHT way and get yourself spurred into working). The surprising to-do list hack that lets you procrastinate and be productive at the same time. (Yeah, seriously.) And much more! Grab your copy of 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks today to start short-circuiting procrastination. To beat the urge to procrastinate once and for all and start enjoying life guilt-free, scroll up to the top of this page and click BUY NOW! P.S. Don't say, "someday I'll get around to buying this book..." because we both know what that means. Click the BUY NOW button at the top of this page to kill procrastination today!

productivity

Productivity

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

Imagine stress-free productivity. Imagine guilt-free relaxation. Do you feel like you can't get yourself to do anything? Do you hate yourself for procrastinating? Do you find it impossible to relax because of the frustration and guilt that comes with procrastination? If you struggle with procrastination, then this book is your blueprint for crushing procrastination once and for all. 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks: How to Stop Being Lazy, Overcome Procrastination, and Finally Get Stuff Done teaches you how to quickly and painlessly beat the urge to procrastinate, letting you enjoy life guilt-free. Learn how to easily get yourself spurred into working Imagine if you could painlessly get work done when you need to, and then relax free of guilt afterwards. Well, guess what? 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks teaches you how to do just that. You will learn... <ul> <li>How a racist church can help you get things done--fast!</li> <li>How to make a "tasty" to-do list that makes getting things done *gasp* enjoyable.</li> <li>Why getting started is the hardest part of overcoming procrastination (and 4 foolproof techniques to painlessly kickstart your productivity).</li> </ul> And much more! Equip yourself with procrastination-proof methods for finally getting that work done by grabbing your copy of 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks today. Finally, beat the urge to procrastinate. What if you could crush those feelings of laziness? Well, guess what? You can! You're about to discover... <ul> <li>The ONE word you should be saying that kills the urge to procrastinate. (Backed by science.)</li> <li>Why visualizing success actually leads to procrastination (and how to visualize the RIGHT way and get yourself spurred into working).</li> <li>The surprising to-do list hack that lets you procrastinate and be productive at the same time. (Yeah, seriously.)</li> </ul> And much more! Grab your copy of 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks today to start short-circuiting procrastination. To beat the urge to procrastinate once and for all and start enjoying life guilt-free, scroll up to the top of this page and click BUY NOW! P.S. Don't say, "someday I'll get around to buying this book..." because we both know what that means. Click the BUY NOW button at the top of this page to kill procrastination today!

OUTSOURCING

Similar ideas to OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing Life

What We Avoid Doing Might Help Us

Music and repetitive tasks