To preface this blog post, I have to say that I am a major procrastinator. That being said, I am definitely trying to reduce my amount of procrastination each day as to not overwhelm myself with ten things to do on one day. For example, I bought a planner for the 2019 calendar year which is a big step for me! It allows me to keep organized and make checklists of things I need to do during the day. I read
The Psychology of Checklists which supported my thoughts on checklists. Even before getting a planner, I found it useful to make checklists, even if it was on a sticky note, because it helped me feel accomplished for little things throughout the day. Checklists are probably my most effective time management strategy. I also read
Eat the Frogs which was an amusing article. In high school, I would use the strategy of waking up early in the morning to finish homework or study which was pretty effective for me in retrospect. Doing the things I didn't want to do first thing in the morning made me feel productive for the rest of my day, which supports what the article said. On the other hand, now that I'm in college, I am unwilling to wake up early for any reason other than to get to class, so I'm not so sure I can "eat the frogs" during my lectures!
Hey, Darren!
ReplyDeleteI agree you 100% -- I used to be a horrible procrastinator until I got my planner. Just being able to see what I have to get done on a given day helps me to prioritize tasks and get started, which is half the battle. I hope it works effectively for you, too. I also like the "checklist" approach you found -- breaking tasks down into bite-sized pieces (which you can check off as you go) helps me feel like I'm getting WAY more done, even if I'm just accomplishing pieces of a larger goal. This motivates me to keep going and, eventually, knock out the bigger task. Great strategy!