Chunking TIME to get you going

Getting Started
Getting the GUI Things Done – Part 2

© Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
in the Time & Task Management Series

Getting back to GUI!
Looking at Good, Urgent, and Important

Found HERE

In Part 1 of this article, Getting off the couch & getting going, I began by suggesting a down-and-dirty way to tackle a number of different kinds of tasks by throwing them into a few metaphorical “task bins.”

In this way of moving through malaise to activation, I suggested that you separate your tasks into 3 metaphorical piles, and I began to explore the distinction between them:

1. Tasks that would be Good to get done
2. Tasks that are Urgent
3. Tasks that are Important

In the way I look at productivity, any forward motion is good forward motion!

Making a dent in a task sure works better than giving in to those “mood fixers” we employ attempting to recenter from a serious bout of task anxiety — those bouts of back and forth texting or endless games of Words with Friends™ — and all sorts of things that actually take us in the opposite direction from the one we really want to travel.

Dent Making-101

Anyone who is struggling with activation can make behavior changes and kick themselves into getting into action by breaking down the task until it feels DO-able in any number of ways, such as:

1. Picking something tiny to begin with, like putting away only the clean forks in the dishwasher – or just the glasses, or just the plates – or hanging up the outfit you tossed on a chair when you changed into pajamas and fell into bed last night, or picking out only one type of clothing from the laundry basket to fold and put away;
2. Focusing on a smaller portion of a task, as in the closet example in the prior post;
3. Chunking Time — setting a specific time limit and allowing yourself to STOP when the time is up.

Now let’s take a look at that last one.

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Chunking Time

Set a timer for five minutes and say, “I’m only going to do this huge obnoxious task for five minutes.”

Found HERE

Many people find that they can keep on going after they get started, but that’s really NOT the point of chunking time.

• Let yourself stop if you are still experiencing resistance when the alarm rings. Promise yourself that tomorrow you’ll go for SIX and go do something else (besides sitting back down with the remote, that is).
• When you do it the “stop when you said you would” way, you’ve just told your subconscious mind that you were inspiring momentum, not attempting to trick yourself into doing something you didn’t want to do — in other words, that you can be trusted to do what you promised yourself.
• When you are still experiencing resistance and “should” yourself into going for longer, guess how easy it’s going to be to make yourself tackle the next 5-minute task?  Your inner three-year old won’t like it.  S/he’ll balk.
• Only go for more time on task if you’re really inspired to keep going – and set your timer for another 5 minutes. Do it again if you still feel like it, or set the alarm for longer – but don’t go crazy here.

Found HERE

IMPORTANT: Don’t let that feeling of “NO MORE!” be where you end the task.

Your subconscious mind will file away the entire activity in the “odious” box.

Say “enough for today” at a good stopping point well before you are ready to run away screaming, or you are likely to wear out your resolve.  Baby steps work best when you’re stuck.

Giving up GREAT to get to GOOD

Negative self-talk makes activation problems worse. When we focus on doing every single task completely and to the very best of our ability and can’t seem to summon the energy to do it to that level, we fan the negative self-talk flame.

This new “failure” activates every negative thing about our lack of follow-though that we’ve ever thought or heard. Neurons that wire together fire together!

Related Post: Getting to Good Enough

Give yourself a break!   Forgive, normalize, endorse and allow.

• Forgive yourself for being human;
• Normalize your experience (vs. beating yourself up about it);
• Endorse your resolve to do something about your tendency to “procrastinate”
  (or whatever you call it);
• Allow yourself to do something to move the ball forward – no matter how tiny – every single day (or most of them, anyway!)

Forcing yourself to reach beyond the energy you have available rarely turns much of anything around. If it works in the moment it usually backfires on you later on.

Don’t discount that forgiveness step

In a procrastination study undertaken by Michael Wohl, Ph.D., at Carleton University in 2010, college freshmen who seemed to be in the grip of the self-flagellation habit were randomly sorted into two groups, shortly before an exam.

After the test, one group was instructed in how to forgive themselves for putting off studying. These students procrastinated far less than the other group when studying for the next exam.

It isn’t a perfect technique and the interpretation of the study results vary, but it certainly is one worth trying doncha’ think? If you need a bit more wind beneath your wings, check out some of the articles linked to this one – above and below.

If you’d like some personalized attention to your current challenges with time management, organization or task completion, I currently have several openings in my coaching schedule.

Get in touch if you would like to hire me to personally coach you in a you-specific manner, holding you accountable in a way that will really help you get things done. I’d LOVE to partner with you

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There’s a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come.

If you’d like some one-on-one (couples or group) coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this article (either for your own life, that of a loved one, or as coaching skills development), click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end, or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page. I’ll get back to you ASAP (accent on the “P”ossible!)

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You might also be interested in some of the following articles
available right now – on this site and elsewhere.

For links in context: run your cursor over the article above and the dark grey links will turn dark red;
(subtle, so they don’t pull focus while you read, but you can find them to click when you’re ready for them)
— and check out the links to other Related Content in each of the articles themselves —

Related articles right here on ADDandSoMuchMore.com

• Brain-based Coaching with Madelyn Griffith-Haynie
• Brain-based Coaching Fees & Formats
• The Group Coaching LinkList – explaining how this format works

• Predicting Time to Manage Tasks
• The articles of the TaskMaster™ Series
• Time & Time Management Series LinkList

Related articles ’round the ‘net

• 10 Time Management Tips for New Media Artists (newmediarockstars.com)
• How Employers Can Make Us Stop Multitasking (blogs.hbr.org)
• How to easily optimize Task Management (javacodegeeks.com)
• Learn to say ‘no’ (bissonchristian.com)
• Faced With Overload, A Need To Find Focus (ceo.com)
• Time Management Technique for People Who Don’t Want to Take Time to Do a Time Management Technique (strengthforwomennow.wordpress.com)

BY THE WAY: I revisit all my content periodically to update links — when you link back, like, follow or comment, you STAY on the page. When you do not, you run a high risk of getting replaced by a site with a more generous come-from.

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