Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Feeling overwhelmed
It's Monday morning and I've got the whole morning to myself in the office. I've got a long list of things that need doing, with about 6 items on the urgent list. The urgent alone will take all morning. And I'm fielding various phone calls as well, as the only time people can get hold of me is on an office morning.
I've hit an rather unexpected block. When I start doing urgent task A, I keep getting the feeling "shouldn't you be doing urgent task B, or even C?" Followed by "I haven't got enough time to do all this!" Followed by "I've just thought of three more things that have to be done by Friday!" And in the end all I want to do is go and bury my head in a hole somewhere and hope it will all go away.
Does this happen to other people? Can anyone suggest some ways to overcome this block?
H.
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ADD?
interesting suggestion. I'm pretty confident I don't have ADD (I'm a paediatrician who diagnoses children with ADD among other things). I think this is a psychological response to stressors, combined with a generous chunk of demand avoidance.
I normally have excellent concentration if I've got a task I WANT to do.
Ruth
re: distracted by other tasks
Absolutely. The only thing that gets me though that is having a todo list in a trusted system that I use every day. When thoughts of another task distract me, I write it down and get it out of my mind. (This is based on the GTD - Getting things done system by David Allen).
I still have trouble focusing on thing at a time, but it helps knowing that all my tasks are documented and prioritized. Focus, now, that's a whole nother issue lol.
Jo
You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature. - Les Brown
GTD
I'm a great believer in GTD's trusted lists, and all my stuff goes on my lists. But things still keep popping up in my head, even though they are already written down. I think I've got a psychological issue about prioritisation - I decide on one priority, and then when doing it start thinking that something else should have been the first priority
H.
re: things popping into your head
yeah, that's a recurring theme around here - we tend to second guess every decision to death. Let me know when you figure out how to fix that
Have you ever considered that you might have ADD? I don't think I do, but I'm def more distractible that normal folks. Edmund Hallowells books (Driven to Distraction, etc.) were very helpful to me.
Jo
You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature. - Les Brown
(H)
Yes, a thousand times yes! The only thing that has helped me so far is write down the next 3 thing I am going to do, then the next 3, etc. When I do not want to do the things I need to do, I start with things like 1. Make a phone call 2. Get a cup of coffee , it starts to get me in the grove, like a warm up, sometime I use the chart box to post the 3things, sometimes I have a bookend buddy, whatever works. And being humble enough to admit I need help. (that is a big hurdle for me)
Thanks Vic It's a relief
Thanks Vic
It's a relief to know it's not just me. I guess it's back to baby steps doing one thing at a time. I've had another seriously wasted day today (Saturday) as I only managed a few basic things like loading the dishwasher and washing machine. I pray that tomorrow I may have the strength to do some of the important things - and listing making the cup of coffee sounds like a way to get going.
H.