Getting things done/procrastination

[Lizard Queen]

When you have a bunch of different stuff to do, what do you start with?  I've been trying to start out with the hardest/longest/biggest pita project first, but that isn't working for me--at all.  I get more stressed about the upcoming deadlines and the myriad of little things I hadn't started yet.  I think I'm going to try starting with the easier stuff, and see how that goes.

How do you tackle a mountain of various tasks, and does it work for you?

[flutterby]

I'm the opposite, more of a "snowball effect" way of doing it. I like to tackle the smaller things first so I have them out of the way and also have the satisfaction of crossing them off my list. Then I can concentrate on just the bigger things.

[busymom]

I do it according to, which task will haunt me later if I don't do it now.

Good luck!  I'm in the middle of purging all the stuff we've accumulated in our house, & it does seem endless some days...

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Do the most tasking challenge first - the rest will seem like a walk in the park.

The bigger the project, it's the one that needs to be whittled away first. It'll free you up to spend more time getting the smaller things on your agenda off the slate.

Otherwise, you'll just be spinning your wheels and not making any progress.

[toomuchreality]

Mar 29, 2014 20:12:44 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

When you have a bunch of different stuff to do, what do you start with?  I've been trying to start out with the hardest/longest/biggest pita project first, but that isn't working for me--at all.  I get more stressed about the upcoming deadlines and the myriad of little things I hadn't started yet.  I think I'm going to try starting with the easier stuff, and see how that goes.

How do you tackle a mountain of various tasks, and does it work for you?

    I'm the same way.   Lacking in the motivation factor!   
Sometimes it must seem like I don't care. But really, I care too much.

Good luck!

[Tiny]

I have the attention span of a gnat. Unless I'm totally ingrossed/focused and then I forget to stop or do things like eat or sleep.

But, my day to day 'get along OK' plan involves prioritizing which things are most important - with the caveat that everything can NOT be most important. I try to keep it to 3 things or less. Then I make sure that on a very conscious level that doing does things IS important and worthwhile. then I break the task/thing down into smaller steps. and then I do my best to accomplish the smaller steps. If something really truly needs to be done... I wind up using a kitchen timer set at 15 minutes. This is so I have a check point of sorts - so that if I've wandered off priority I can get back to it ASAP ( I wander a lot...). I also try to remember to remind myself that the High Priority stuff is the way to go and that doing it will get me something 'good' even if I don't or can't see it in the moment of doing.

I probably have ADD... It's frustrating and annoying. I'm always amazed when someone can sit down and do something incredibily boring or tedious (to me) for HOURS at a time - just by sitting down and doing it... without any prep work or a kitchen timer or anything - they just 'do it'.

[Lizard Queen]

Thanks for the input, guys! My take away is that everyone's different!   Unfortunately, it's all (fairly) important and due on Tuesday.  I've been trying to whittle away at the nastier stuff, but it's taking me a lot longer to finish than I realized, and I'm growing increasingly frustrated and panicked.  Sometimes I wonder if I don't have adult onset ADD too.  I'm having a heck of a time concentrating on my reading, but there are a lot of distractions/interruptions, and I'm also overstimulated with everything that's going on in my life right now.  
(I also used to write short sentences, and now I tend toward the run-on variety! )

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

It depends on what's on my list. 

If I had to establish a pattern, it's probably like this: 
1)What MUST be done today?
2)What MUST be done by tomorrow morning?
3)What have I ignored and is annoying people?
4)How much time do I have and what can I actually complete in that amount of time? (Completing something gives me a sense of accomplishment which keeps me from eating more chocolate.)
5)What do I want to work on right now?

It also depends on where I'm working. If I'm in my office and there are a lot of 1s and 2s, I usually have to shut my door so people don't bug me. Of course, I have full windows so people can see me. If it's really bad, I also close the blinds. 

If I'm at home, I often set the timer so I can get work-work done and then switch to housework for a bit. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

One of the reading techniques I've used with students who have trouble focusing on a page is to take a bookmark, ruler, piece of scratchpaper, etc. and put across the top of the page. Then move the material down the page as you read, blocking out what you've already read. It's a visual trick that helps some people feel less overwhelmed and more easily focus. 

[Peace77]

I prioritize by deadline and by need.

For example, if DH needs clean shirts for work and I need to pay the next bill due.  I would start the laundry and while that is running, pay the bill online.  

If there is no deadline such as a bill due date, a term paper due date, or dinner time, it's harder.  

It helps to make a list if what needs to be done and the deadline for each.

Just starting on a project for 15 minutes or even 7 minutes can make a big difference.

For me, it helps to have some upbeat music playing while I am working.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 29, 2014 22:19:55 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

It depends on what's on my list. 

If I had to establish a pattern, it's probably like this: 
1)What MUST be done today?
2)What MUST be done by tomorrow morning?
3)What have I ignored and is annoying people?
4)How much time do I have and what can I actually complete in that amount of time? (Completing something gives me a sense of accomplishment which keeps me from eating more chocolate.)
5)What do I want to work on right now?

It also depends on where I'm working. If I'm in my office and there are a lot of 1s and 2s, I usually have to shut my door so people don't bug me. Of course, I have full windows so people can see me. If it's really bad, I also close the blinds. 

If I'm at home, I often set the timer so I can get work-work done and then switch to housework for a bit. 

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 29, 2014 22:22:12 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

One of the reading techniques I've used with students who have trouble focusing on a page is to take a bookmark, ruler, piece of scratchpaper, etc. and put across the top of the page. Then move the material down the page as you read, blocking out what you've already read. It's a visual trick that helps some people feel less overwhelmed and more easily focus. 

Interesting.  I have some readings to do on my tablet, and scroll so that this same sort of thing is in effect, and it does seem easier to read stuff on there.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 29, 2014 22:30:37 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

I prioritize by deadline and by need.

For example, if DH needs clean shirts for work and I need to pay the next bill due.  I would start the laundry and while that is running, pay the bill online.  

If there is no deadline such as a bill due date, a term paper due date, or dinner time, it's harder.  

It helps to make a list if what needs to be done and the deadline for each.

Just starting on a project for 15 minutes or even 7 minutes can make a big difference.

For me, it helps to have some upbeat music playing while I am working.

I tend to work on deadlines too.  My problem is, there are a bunch the same day.

[Lizard Queen]

Okay, I got one (necessary but fairly easy) thing done today. I feel a teeny bit better.  Kids crying/screaming etc. make everything take so much more time!

[cronewitch]

I start everything but finish nothing. If it doesn't have a deadline it doesn't get done. Sometimes I just think about doing stuff and don't start. Like today I am looking at my lawn, it isn't raining so I am thinking about cutting it. I stepped outside to see if it was too cold and it really isn't, so now I am thinking I could hire some people to come wash walls, mow lawn, weed flower beds and scrub my kitchen but organizing tools and cleaning supplies is a lot of work and don't know how many people it would take. So maybe I will just throw some stuff away take speakers down for stereo I don't have anymore. I am burning incense so that is almost like cleaning.

[Deleted]

I too start with what is driving me crazy.

Milizard, you have a HUGE amount on your plate (I'm on WIR too so I've seen your thread there). It's no surprise that you are feeling totally overwhelmed. 

The best advice I can give you is to get and stay on top of things as they come up. Start with one thing at a time. It doesn't matter what you start with ... as long as you start.

I realize that may sound self-righteous or condescending but I PROMISE, I SWEAR, I don't mean it that way! Getting caught up on whatever you can, WHEN you can, is a TOOL! 

Even if you are BARELY on top of cleaning / bill-paying / kids' homework / laundry / YOUR homework / your mom, etc, then whenever you have a crisis / deadline, you can let ANY or ALL of those things slide for at least a day or two or three or even a week (depending on what it is). You still have to feed the kids though LOL. 

When you have more time (either vacation time, or between semesters), split it in half. Use half to do some fun things you don't normally have the time to do, relax, rest. But also use half to try to get your life / house more organized. Make some calls for your mom (ie Meals on Wheels, to start). File your paperwork so it takes less time and you can more easily deal with incoming mail. If you don't yet have a filing system, set one up. Fill up your fridge / freezer. Cook batch meals (ie cook for double your family size and freeze half). Maybe set up a "buddy system" for your classes. You get the point. If your house is messy, and maybe even if it's not, declutter. 

Good luck to you! 

[whoisjohngalt]

Mar 29, 2014 20:12:44 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

When you have a bunch of different stuff to do, what do you start with?  I've been trying to start out with the hardest/longest/biggest pita project first, but that isn't working for me--at all.  I get more stressed about the upcoming deadlines and the myriad of little things I hadn't started yet.  I think I'm going to try starting with the easier stuff, and see how that goes.

How do you tackle a mountain of various tasks, and does it work for you?

When I was working, I did the most challenging things first.  I am terrible at doing things I find easy/un-interesting and would wait until the last possible second

At home?  Wellll.....I do the ones that are the most urgent.  Like doing laundry if my husband has no underwear for work is more urgent than picking up toys in a family room

[Deleted]

I am a procrastinator so I try to do stuff as soon as I hear about it.  If I put it off, it's a PITA to ever get done.

The ironic part is that everyone else puts off stuff forever, and we get a dozen reminders to turn whatever in way past the due date.  I am left puzzling whether I actually did whatever because it's been a month or two since whatever was first requested.  There's usually no record because it is all electronically submitted.  I'm talking about inventories, mandatory surveys, etc.

Unless you are OCD, you can't win if you are a procrastinator. 

[Deleted]

Mar 30, 2014 16:34:54 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Mar 29, 2014 20:12:44 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

When you have a bunch of different stuff to do, what do you start with?  I've been trying to start out with the hardest/longest/biggest pita project first, but that isn't working for me--at all.  I get more stressed about the upcoming deadlines and the myriad of little things I hadn't started yet.  I think I'm going to try starting with the easier stuff, and see how that goes.

How do you tackle a mountain of various tasks, and does it work for you?

When I was working, I did the most challenging things first.  I am terrible at doing things I find easy/un-interesting and would wait until the last possible second

At home?  Wellll.....I do the ones that are the most urgent.  Like doing laundry if my husband has no underwear for work is more urgent than picking up toys in a family room

See, you call doing that the most urgent. I would call it doing the stuff that pretty much stays done. If you wash clothes, it is several days before you have to do laundry again. If you pick up toys, you have to do it again an hour later.

I sometimes do easy, mindless stuff first because I don't want to do the hard stuff.  I will have 120 vocabulary tests to grade, and 120 papers to grade.  I am not in the mood to grade either.  (It is usually a weekend.)  So I grade the 120 vocabulary tests so I can show that I graded "something." 

It's all smoke and mirrors.  Lol.

[Works4me]

I am joining the Procrastinators' Club tomorrow!

[sarcasticgirl]

I try and get through the least annoying tasks first in hopes that momentum takes over and I just keep going.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using proboards

[Peace77]

If you can't decide which to do first, pick the one that has the greatest reward / benefit if dione.  Or, pick the one that has the greatest penalty if left undone.

If the kids are preventing you from getting things done, can you get a babysitter and go to the library?

Or, could the kids go to a neighbor's or a friend's house for a few hours?

[giramomma]

Mar 30, 2014 15:56:13 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Okay, I got one (necessary but fairly easy) thing done today. I feel a teeny bit better.  Kids crying/screaming etc. make everything take so much more time!

I can so identify with this

To deal with the unpredictability of kids, I try to stick to a routine as much as possible. Thursdays are bathroom days. I get home 25 minutes before I start teaching, the kids are out of the house. I get two bathrooms done that way. Any touch ups I do during bath time. Tuesdays is Target day, since I work by Target. Bills and what not are on auto pay or online paying. Except for tax season, it takes me about 2 hours a month to deal with our finances. (This includes dealing with my SE income, recording it, etc.)

I don't know what your morning routine is like, but I usually am up, dressed, before the kids get up. Two days out of the week I go into work early. The other three, I have a half hour to myself to get stuff done. If I don't have things I need to do around the house, then I get my work day organized so that the minute I hit my office I'm ready to work. I also have an hour at night after the kids go to bed and when I do to get stuff done. If I need a quick break at work, I'll check into a few things as needed.

I also found that I procrastinate with tasks that aren't important to me. I really do try to spend my time now, only doing things that have value to my life somehow. My test is "Does this support my family goals?" If whatever "needs" to be done doesn't support my family's goals/needs , either at the individual or collective level, I don't spend time doing it. I also consider this to be fluid. Our needs are different when someone has unplanned surgery or we are dealing child(ren) that won't sleep vs when things are relatively stable. We adjust accordingly.

As others have suggested, I've started taking a bit of vacation time to get stuff done around the house. I take a day off when the kids and DH are occupied. As long as I don't open up my computer, I'm rather productive. Last week, I purged three tall kitchen bags of things from our house in a matter of a few hours.

The other thing that helps me not put things off, is the realization that my future time is already spoken for. I can't push things off, because I can almost bet that I won't have time to do it later. So, if I have the time now, to get something done, I should. I also understand, now, that I am never "done." This also motivates me to work ahead a little bit.

I also have my lists, and try to break down larger tasks into smaller ones. DH and I also really operate as a team. We usually talk about logistics, etc either the night before or the morning of. That helps, too.

[toomuchreality]

I like things with instant gratification.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 30, 2014 16:27:31 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

I too start with what is driving me crazy.

Milizard, you have a HUGE amount on your plate (I'm on WIR too so I've seen your thread there). It's no surprise that you are feeling totally overwhelmed. 

The best advice I can give you is to get and stay on top of things as they come up. Start with one thing at a time. It doesn't matter what you start with ... as long as you start.

I realize that may sound self-righteous or condescending but I PROMISE, I SWEAR, I don't mean it that way! Getting caught up on whatever you can, WHEN you can, is a TOOL! 

Even if you are BARELY on top of cleaning / bill-paying / kids' homework / laundry / YOUR homework / your mom, etc, then whenever you have a crisis / deadline, you can let ANY or ALL of those things slide for at least a day or two or three or even a week (depending on what it is). You still have to feed the kids though LOL. 

When you have more time (either vacation time, or between semesters), split it in half. Use half to do some fun things you don't normally have the time to do, relax, rest. But also use half to try to get your life / house more organized. Make some calls for your mom (ie Meals on Wheels, to start). File your paperwork so it takes less time and you can more easily deal with incoming mail. If you don't yet have a filing system, set one up. Fill up your fridge / freezer. Cook batch meals (ie cook for double your family size and freeze half). Maybe set up a "buddy system" for your classes. You get the point. If your house is messy, and maybe even if it's not, declutter. 

Good luck to you! 

Thanks.  You don't sound self-righteous to me at all.  Right now I have to get to the end of the semester, so I'm focusing on school and checking on my mom.  I'm letting DH take over on the home-front for the next couple of weeks (with mixed results).

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 30, 2014 16:43:50 GMT -5 @southernsusana said:

Mar 30, 2014 16:34:54 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

When I was working, I did the most challenging things first.  I am terrible at doing things I find easy/un-interesting and would wait until the last possible second

At home?  Wellll.....I do the ones that are the most urgent.  Like doing laundry if my husband has no underwear for work is more urgent than picking up toys in a family room

See, you call doing that the most urgent. I would call it doing the stuff that pretty much stays done. If you wash clothes, it is several days before you have to do laundry again. If you pick up toys, you have to do it again an hour later.

I sometimes do easy, mindless stuff first because I don't want to do the hard stuff.  I will have 120 vocabulary tests to grade, and 120 papers to grade.  I am not in the mood to grade either.  (It is usually a weekend.)  So I grade the 120 vocabulary tests so I can show that I graded "something." 

It's all smoke and mirrors.  Lol.

That's kind of what I mean about the easy stuff and hard stuff.  I have a case to do that is very time-consuming and difficult, so I need to concentrate and have a large block of time.  I tried doing the more mindless stuff during the day with the kiddos home, and it seemed to work a little better.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 30, 2014 22:01:37 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

If you can't decide which to do first, pick the one that has the greatest reward / benefit if dione.  Or, pick the one that has the greatest penalty if left undone.

If the kids are preventing you from getting things done, can you get a babysitter and go to the library?

Or, could the kids go to a neighbor's or a friend's house for a few hours?

Our library has really limited hours, but I guess I can try Panera or Starbucks next weekend (which should be even worse than this weekend). Kids are at daycare today, so I should be able to accomplish something.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 30, 2014 22:01:37 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 30, 2014 23:07:51 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Mar 30, 2014 15:56:13 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Okay, I got one (necessary but fairly easy) thing done today. I feel a teeny bit better.  Kids crying/screaming etc. make everything take so much more time!

I can so identify with this

To deal with the unpredictability of kids, I try to stick to a routine as much as possible. Thursdays are bathroom days. I get home 25 minutes before I start teaching, the kids are out of the house. I get two bathrooms done that way. Any touch ups I do during bath time. Tuesdays is Target day, since I work by Target. Bills and what not are on auto pay or online paying. Except for tax season, it takes me about 2 hours a month to deal with our finances. (This includes dealing with my SE income, recording it, etc.)

I don't know what your morning routine is like, but I usually am up, dressed, before the kids get up. Two days out of the week I go into work early. The other three, I have a half hour to myself to get stuff done. If I don't have things I need to do around the house, then I get my work day organized so that the minute I hit my office I'm ready to work. I also have an hour at night after the kids go to bed and when I do to get stuff done. If I need a quick break at work, I'll check into a few things as needed.

I also found that I procrastinate with tasks that aren't important to me. I really do try to spend my time now, only doing things that have value to my life somehow. My test is "Does this support my family goals?" If whatever "needs" to be done doesn't support my family's goals/needs , either at the individual or collective level, I don't spend time doing it. I also consider this to be fluid. Our needs are different when someone has unplanned surgery or we are dealing child(ren) that won't sleep vs when things are relatively stable. We adjust accordingly.

As others have suggested, I've started taking a bit of vacation time to get stuff done around the house. I take a day off when the kids and DH are occupied. As long as I don't open up my computer, I'm rather productive. Last week, I purged three tall kitchen bags of things from our house in a matter of a few hours.

The other thing that helps me not put things off, is the realization that my future time is already spoken for. I can't push things off, because I can almost bet that I won't have time to do it later. So, if I have the time now, to get something done, I should. I also understand, now, that I am never "done." This also motivates me to work ahead a little bit.

I also have my lists, and try to break down larger tasks into smaller ones. DH and I also really operate as a team. We usually talk about logistics, etc either the night before or the morning of. That helps, too.

Thanks, this is what I need to come up with--some really good routines.  With letting DH take over more for a few weeks, they've fallen apart. (I shoot for 7:30 bedtimes and a load or 2 of laundry every night.  This has not been happening with him in charge.) I guess I need to get him on the same page.

[Lizard Queen]

Status update: 10% of difficult case done. 1/3 of accounting HW done (I would skip this, but serves also as prep for a quiz tomorrow. Mgmt HW done.  Ethics HW done.

Need for tomorrow: finish rest of case, finish at least majority of acct. HW, do finance HW & Extra-credit (should be easy), find notes for Mgmt project for a team member, finish reading for ethics for possible quiz