To ask how to change from a massive procrastinator to a "doer"!

[ChungPo]

I've been off for a couple of months (between jobs) and I had planned to do a million things around the house, get myself organised and into some routine which I've never had. I started off ok for a couple of weeks and now I haven't done anything really productive 😃. I'm not sure how I'm spending my time as before I know it the day is over!
I have a vague list of stuff that needs doing but keep telling myself I'll start tomorrow and then tomorrow comes and I say the same thing again!

Can you please give me your best tips on how to not be so damn lazy!

@StCharlotte

Do. Not. Sit. Down.

This. Soda off limits until after five. Once you get down there days can go by

I used to be like this and blunder my way through life feeling unhappy and in debt all the time without knowing why.
I booked a week's holiday a while ago and sat down and went through all of my finances with a fine toothcomb.
I now know exactly what I must do to keep on track and it's such a MASSIVE relief, I'm not going to bed in a state every night, I can actually sleep.
My finances always used to fill me with utter dread but now I can face everything again.
Sorting it all out will make you feel fantastic.

I don't think,. I just do. Getting stuff out of the way is good for the soul.

Get up now and go do one of them. Actually do 2. Get on the phone to HMRC and do housework while you're on hold. See how much you get get done before they answer.

- making a phone call to HMRC
You'll definetly need a podcast/audiobook at the ready for this one!!

- print, fill in and post a form
Set a stop watch and time yourself for this (the print/fill in bit at least) I bet you'll surprise yourself at how quickly you can complete a job you've been procrastinating at for a while.

- go to bank to set up Ds bank account. He's 9 now and have been wanting to do this for years!
As above

- call round workmen for quotes for refurb of living room ( need plasterer, joiner, gas person, electrician, need a wall knocking and making a new one). I absolutely hate organising stuff like this!
I'm with you on this one. Maybe find a general buidler/ home renovator who will complete most the work themselves and project manage the rest/ other trades for you.

- want to get into a cleaning / cooking routine ( I have tried a million times but never stick to anything more than a couple of days).
The organsided mum method for cleaning, whiteboard and online grocery shopping for the cooking, and if you can afford it consider hello fresh or gusto.

- buy school uniform bits, school bags etc ready for sept
another one which will take less time than you think if you just designate a time to focua on all school stuff.

- I have a pile of stuff which needs selling on eBay - another job I don't enjoy.
Anything worth less than £10 is more hassle than it's worth, so either sell in a bundle or charity shop/ advertise free on facebook (then don't interact with any time wasters)

- deep clean whole house, reorganise etc
Organised mum method bootcamp

Have you tried pomodoros? (They were invented by an Italian with a tomato shaped timer, hence the name.) You set a timer for 20 minutes and don’t do anything other than the task for 20 minutes, no loo trips or drinks of water or quick phone checks- because it’s only 20 minutes that stuff can wait.
It’s amazing how much you can get done in 20 minutes. Then you can say ‘This morning I will aim to do 3 pomodoros on boring admin stuff’ (but with 5 minute breaks in between).

I have done a list with a time of how long I think the task will take. Stupidly most things are less than half an hour so perfectly achievable individually. This also seems to spur me on to complete more things on the list

Lovely feeling striking off each task.

Your list is similar to mine.
My house stuff I ve listed as one cupboard a day and a daily cleaning and laundry task til it’s done.
I’ve booked Thursday afternoon for my paperwork task and Friday for school uniform and shoes.
I’m delegating meal planning to the dcs.

Oh God I can well understand why you’re putting these tasks off.
Ring HMRC? Should take 5 mins. In reality you’ll be holding for 20 before being told you’re through to the wrong number and will have to redial. You’ll then be asked for a password or reference number you never knew you had. Etc.
Open bank account? Multiply the above by six.
Workmen? Post Covid? Actually at least that should be a quick one - “I can fit you in next December” - job done! That might be a call worth getting out of the way….
Sympathies 🙂🙂

The schoolbooks I agree will be quicker than you think.
Unless there’s one - just one - “not in stock”…there always is…

Is there a (free) app that gives a daily reminder of tasks that I can click and complete? I get a feeling of achievement from this - like a child!

@Royalbloo

I have a list, make a plan and stick to it. But if you have a few weeks off then there's no need for you to be in a massive hurry

This ends up being my problem - I have time to do it, so I put it off and it never gets done.

I am a massive procrastinator by nature, but I am also very organised (think Arnold Rimmer in the Red Dwarf book who spends so long making his revision timetable he never does any actual revision). Things that help me are running two to-do lists - one with everything on separated into areas and roughly in order of what needs doing. Then a daily to-do list on my phone so I can tick things off. Pick a realistic amount of things for a day from the master list, and get them done.

Also, I do things like make myself do 30 mins of something before I can pick up my phone again. Or promised myself a glass of wine/ biscuit/ read of my book when I've accomplished enough.

Hope you aren’t reading this or too late to act on it as it means you’ve done some of the stuff above

• write a list on paper - so satisfying to tick off
• pre- plan rewards through the day, such as a cup of tea/10 minutes on MN with timer across the room. The pre planning helps get you doing the next job, no job no reward
• group things such as calls, things you need to go out for (? School uniform and the bank)

-small and manageable each day. If you do more than you were expecting great, but it won’t feel like failing if you only do a few things

• follow one of the methods others suggest, I’m a procrastinator and don’t shut know that I should.

I'm a big fan of lists, actual physical hand written lists of things that need to be done. I tend to carry them around with me jn my wallet. I try and make the lists detailed action points that can be objectively tackled one by one rather then lofty nebulas aspirational goals (instead of 'learn french' I had watch 10 mins of French tuition on YouTube each morning). I had actions split into weekly tasks and longer term objectives. It worked for me.

@onemouseplace I had an ex-boyfriend at uni who read me that passage as it described me so aptly!

@ChungPo this might sound daft but would establishing a morning routine help? It doesn't have to be elaborate and might help you feel more focused and ready for the day. There's a load of podcasts about this. It's something that I'm trying to establish for myself - we sound quite similar!

I have ADHD, so welcome to the story of my life. Haha.

Here's what I recommend. Four super simple steps.

1. Aim to do one thing per day. Not three things. If you get ONE thing from your list done every day, you can get 365 things done each year. Of course - if you do one thing and then want to do another, nothing is stopping you.

1. Do the standalone/quick things first. Call HMRC tomorrow. Set up bank account the next day. Buy school bits the next day. This clears up your headspace, then you can focus on breaking down those bigger tasks. For instance - decluttering your home. You do the kitchen on Monday. Lounge on Tuesday. etc. Once you've done that, you start your "sell shit on eBay project". You list 10 items on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, etc. If you just can't bring yourself to do something that your life doesn't depend on, then you can also choose to just drop it. Donate the stuff. Move on with things that are more important to you. When you try to do too many things at once, you end up doing none of them. Focus on one thing at a time, then move on to the next.

1. Pick a power hour. Find an hour in your day where your only focus is to do that thing you've planned to do today. Often, we don't get "anything" done, because we go about our day doing whatever, then get to 7pm and realise we can't make that call because the lines are closed, can't go to the bank for the same reason, and so on. Then we have to make dinner, sort kids/pets/whatever, and then we just want to wind down. So find one hour in your day specifically for tackling that ONE item from your to-do list.

1. Organise your tasks: Urgent. Quick. Projects. Urgent stuff is anything you absolutely need to prioritise. Even if that's remembering to buy milk today. Quick stuff is phone calls and opening bank accounts and singular tasks. Projects are things that require multiple days or longer - like ebay and contractors. I prefer to use mind maps, but use lists if you prefer.

Use an app, like Any.Do, or paper, or whatever works for you. I use the "TeuxDeux" app to make lists I can refer back to, then I use the "Hour Blocks" app to plan my days (including when my "power hour" will be, and what I'm going to do during it).

Good luck. You've got this. ;)

@StCharlotte

Do. Not. Sit. Down.

Do. Not. Take. This. Advice.

@ChungPo

Ok so the jobs I need doing really vary from little things to massive stuff. On my list ( in my head!) I have...

• making a phone call to HMRC
• print, fill in and post a form
• go to bank to set up Ds bank account. He's 9 now and have been wanting to do this for years!
• call round workmen for quotes for refurb of living room ( need plasterer, joiner, gas person, electrician, need a wall knocking and making a new one). I absolutely hate organising stuff like this!
• want to get into a cleaning / cooking routine ( I have tried a million times but never stick to anything more than a couple of days).
• buy school uniform bits, school bags etc ready for sept
• I have a pile of stuff which needs selling on eBay - another job I don't enjoy.
• deep clean whole house, reorganise etc

There's other stuff but I find it all overwhelming. I want to have a clean, tidy and organised house and wake up knowing exactly what I'll be cooking today and what I'll be doing today. I want order in my life!

Oh god - your list is very very similar to mine!! In fact, you've reminded me of stuff that should be on my list but isn't. Perhaps half of the country are putting off the same tasks??! I've tried to prioritise my tasks so just have one key task each day that I absolutely need to get done - today's is youngest son's haircut... Anything else is a bonus! Good luck with your list.

Another thing that gets my arse into gear is telling someone my list. I don’t like to let others know how much I actually procrastinate and how much time I actually waste.
Sometimes there are threads on listing stuff that needs to get done that help. I need a daily one.

Pick a TV show which is either 20-30 minutes per episode or has advert breaks every 15 minutes. Then say you're going to work until the adverts/end of episode and challenge yourself to get as much done off the list as possible. Promise yourself a coffee break afterwards.

I often find when the time is up I want to keep going as I'm almost finished and by having a time pressure you complete the tasks so much quicker. It's similar to how I empty the dishwasher whilst the kettle boils and nearly always have it completed before it stops boiling (which is about 90 seconds).

@YoungWerther

You could always just accept yourself as you are. It's not laziness, it's enjoying a period of ease.

Think it depends if this makes you happy or not. It’s about being productive and I’ve been told the smartest workers aren’t the hardest but the ones who are efficient with their time. This made me think! I’m terrible with being efficient.

I feel so shit about all this. Id love to say I've gone away and done a few things off my list but I haven't. I've made a quick lunch and hoovered the house which is a start but nothing else has been done!

Op, the answer is HABITS!

Procrastination is a string of small delayed decisions. And habits are the things that allow you to make the decisions and follow through in a consistent way. And once the habits become automatic, you don't have to expend any conscious energy on the "getting started" bit which is the hardest part! You just swing in to action and before you know it, the task is done.

I used to procrastinate dreadfully until I followed Flylady. But having to follow a routine of small actions every day, in the morning and late afternoon, really helped me to realise that one small action leads to another. The worst thing to do is to "wait" until you feel in the mood; because (if you are like me anyway ) you rarely do. But if you do one, small focused activity for 15 mins, or just 5 minutes when things are bad, it usually gives you the energy and motivation to do another. And it's surprising how much you can get done in a short, focused burst of activity.

I follow my own version of Flylady now. I have a computer file listing annual, six monthly, quarterly, fortnightly, weekly and daily tasks. These get added to a written wall plan and a daily tick list on my phone.

Another top tip is to make yourself a "school" timetable on squared paper for the week ahead. Shade in all the fixed activities: 30 mins for getting up and showered, 30 mins school run, work hours, meal times. Then ring fence some things you want to do for yourself eg exercise, hobbies (do NOT skip on this bit because your "me" time gives you energy to do the other stuff). Then literally timetable in the time for housework, the time for meal planning, the time for admin etc. You can set up alarms on your phone as reminders. A good Flylady tip is to allocate a specific day of the week for specific tasks such as Monday = main clean, Tues= planning (meals, holidays, appts) , Wed = anti-procrastination , Thurs = errands, Fri = cleaning out purse, handbag, car etc etc. This really helps with planning your time.

If all else fails, just do one thing! Anything!

Good luck

It’s a start op! Those are jobs that needed to get done.
I feel quite productive as I’ve made hummus from scratch (it’s amazing), washed and hung out one load of laundry and cleared out the worst shelf in my kitchen.
So much more to do.

Try using the bullet journal method.. It has made a huge difference for me.
Here's a link to get started : bulletjournal.com/pages/learn

Warning: DO NOT look up bullet journals in YouTube or Pinterest!! You'll end up spending the next few months googling beautiful journals and calligraphy pens All you need is a book and a pen to get started. The key is getting started with the bullet journal.

Make sure you schedule in chilling and relax time, them really do just chill and relax guilt free. Then in work time that you schedule in, select one or two things per day, for that time slot, get them ticked off. That'll make things a lot easier.