The practice
Are you caught in a Procrastination Vortex? It goes like this:
- You have a lot of important things to do.
- When you look at your Important Things To Do list, you feel so overwhelmed by everything on it that you don't do any of them.
- You go to bed feeling guilty and anxious, swearing you'll do the things tomorrow.
- Next day the same thing happens, only now several more things have added themselves to the list, which is now even more overwhelming...
Here's the way out of the Vortex: DO ONE THING A DAY.
The theory
If you do one thing a day off your Important Things To Do list, you will get a lot more done than if you set yourself the task of doing ten things, and do none of them.
One thing a day adds up, especially if you prioritize, so that the one thing you do is the most important thing on the list.
The result
Try it. You get a lot done this way, you make steady progress, and you feel relief rather than the anxiety, guilt and stress caused by procrastination.
And here's an extra bonus: the satisfaction and relief that result from getting an important thing done every day make it more likely that you'll also accomplish a couple of other small tasks, just because you're on a roll. But don't forget to congratulate yourself and take a few minutes off to relish ticking that important task off your list.