Procrastination. I hear about it all the time. My clients confide in me, “I am procrastinating on sending in the contract/mailing the gift/fixing the appliance/etc.” You name it, I’ve heard it. And just between us, I used to think I was the ultimate procrastinator.

Then I heard David Allen say that creative, bright and sensitive people procrastinate the most. I perked up and thought to myself, “Hey, that’s me, smart and imaginative! How did he know? And how very kind of him to describe us (people who procrastinate) that way.”

The GTD methodology resolves procrastination. An example happened to me many years ago. The engine light flashed on in my car. My first thought was, “This is going to cost me thousands of dollars and that’s not in my budget.” I didn’t want to think past the doom and gloom of how much it was going to cost. Also, the idea of getting my car fixed meant figuring out so many other logistics: Do I take it to the Subaru dealer or my own mechanic? How do I coordinate carpooling for my family and myself? The general inconvenience and the unknown overwhelmed me. Every time I got in the car the engine light went on and triggered all those thoughts in my head. For a couple of seconds I would feel the anxiety, but then I distracted myself with something else and forgot about it.

Three months later, after seeing the engine light go on yet again, I thought to myself, “OK, this is ridiculous. I need to practice what I preach.” I took out some paper and asked myself [Read more →]

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We’ve all been there!

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Question: I listened to your Webinar on Procrastination (you can find this Webinar on GTD Connect, our online learning center) and have found that I have trouble starting to “do” anything when I know there is a lot of unprocessed stuff.  I have the type of job whereby e-mails, paper, and other things accumulate rapidly so I am often “stuck” with the inability to start on the action list if my Inbox (both paper and electronic) are filling up  with unprocessed items.  I would be interested in any comments you may have.

I replied: I would say that I am similar. It’s natural actually to want to get In to zero before feeling free and confident in the Doing.  You won’t intuitively trust that the choice you are making is the best one if there are things lurking in the inbox that might be a better choice. However, as you get better and better at GTD and collecting/processing/organizing, a trust factor comes in to know you WILL get back to it when you can. David Allen often says that the more you trust you have a process, you will be more comfortable letting it get out of control.

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A Community Contribution from Mike Vardy

As the first quarter of 2010 passes us by, I’m going to ask it: How many of you have stuck to your “resolutions” that you made at the start of 2010?

I’m betting that some of you – perhaps most of you – have faltered on them in some form or another.  It’s to be expected.  In fact, it can be preferred.

I’ve heard David Allen say you need to make a bunch of resolutions – essentially goals – and the real challenge is making some of them stick.  When I first heard this, I couldn’t believe it.  I mean – c’mon – surely we should have some focus on what we want to get out of ourselves and the year ahead.  Why not hone in on a few resolutions from the onset? [Read more →]

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Still procrastinating about a bunch of things on your action lists? There’s usually one of two reasons for this: (1) they have slowly slipped in importance and interest to you or (2) they aren’t really next actions (so you don’t really know what to do, where, about it). If (1) give yourself permission to move them to Someday/Maybe. If (2) then gird your loins and get back to the granularity of real next actions on your lists – not small sub-projects about your stuff.   -David Allen

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A Community Contribution from Sarah From

A recent article in the New York Times highlights new research on a fascinating phenomenon: the procrastination of pleasure. Not only do we avoid the tasks we dread, we also put off activities we enjoy. Redeeming gift cards, using frequent flier miles, and visiting hometown landmarks all belong to the category of activities we express the desire and intention to do, but chronically put off to another day.

When we put on our GTD glasses we can see one relatively simple approach to this problem: clearly define the very next action. Like all forms of procrastination, pleasure procrastination can result when we are not sure what to do next. Faced with an ill-defined task, we find it easier to ignore the item than to figure out how to do it. It takes shockingly little to derail us into full-on procrastination. [Read more →]

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If you are still struggling trying to get the GTD Weekly Review to become a habit, you’re not alone!  It’s why GTD Connect, David Allen’s online learning center, sends out a Weekly Review reminder email to our members.  It’s a dose of inspiration, sent once a week, looking at a common speed bumps for people with their GTD practice. Here’s a recent one:

Still procrastinating about a bunch of things on your action lists? There are usually one of two reasons for this: (1) they have slowly slipped in importance and interest to you or (2) they aren’t really next actions (so you don’t really know what to do, where, about it).   If (1) give yourself permission to move them to Someday/Maybe.   If (2) then gird your loins and get back to the granularity of real next actions on your lists – not small sub-projects about your stuff.

- David Allen

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In David Allen’s latest Productive Living newsletter, he wrote about the tricky business of motivation. Here’s more sage advice from David on that topic…

Q: How does one get motivated to do these things?  Yes, I can put pressure on myself;  know that I SHOULD do them, but there is pain and suffering that takes away any motivation to “do” things?

David Allen: If I had the magic key that could guarantee that it would get you motivated, I’d be the king of the world (which I’m not!).

I have been in the state you describe, and I think I know the feeling that nothing seems worthwhile to do. It is just a feeling, however, and feelings can change. The problem is, when you’re in that feeling, you see the world through that lens, and nothing is attractive.

I’ve found the best way to change that filter for me is physical movement.  To get my butt in gear about something, even the littlest thing, like walk around the block. Sometimes I just find things to do that don’t require much mental or emotional energy, like clean a drawer or closet, or weed a garden bed. It tends to force me into the driver’s seat of my own energy, and I start directing it in some positive way, as mundane as the activity may be.  Interacting with other people who have my best interests at heart and who hold a positive focus for and with me (instead of letting themselves be brought down with me – “misery loves company”, you know) is a real key for me too.  Sometimes writing in my journal helps.

Trust that there’s a part of you (though it might not be perceivable from your viewing point) that is connected to motivated energy. And imagine what you’d be like if you were, and what you’d likely be doing.

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It certainly has been a while since I’ve written anything for GTD Times, so long that one might think I’d fallen off the wagon.  Not true – somewhat.  It’s not as if I’d fallen and couldn’t get up – it was that I was buried and couldn’t dig out.

Like most of you, I have a lot going on.  Between my writing and the regular day job (the one that I enjoy a ton and it pays regularly), I’d taken on a couple of speaking engagements and started work on a book.  Apparently, I also have a wife and daughter.  I found I wasn’t doing my Weekly Review because my weeks seemed to blend into each other.    Then when I did sit down to do it, I’d felt shameful because I had made limited progress in several areas, but hadn’t finished anything to completion.  That’s when I realized I had fallen into the dangerous realm of “professional crastination” – or procrastination for short. [Read more →]

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Is GTD too structured for creative people? Will it work if you don’t like rigid schedules and plans?  Could an artist possibly “do” GTD.

Coach Julie Ireland weighs in:

I tend to rebel against too much structure/planning. At the same time I do need a certain amount of structure, otherwise my creative energy gets drained from the uncertainty of not being clear about what my commitments are. The beauty of GTD lies in putting enough time and energy into what we call “defining our work and responsibilities”, so that when we have discretionary time we can choose very consciously and purposely to work off of our pre-defined lists, or in my case go and play in my art studio. There is real power in making that choice as the most appropriate thing for me to do, vs. attempting to work in my studio because I’m either avoiding my responsibilities or simply haven’t defined them clearly enough.

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