Productivity by Gill Hasson

Author:Gill Hasson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857088055
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2019-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

4

Manage The Difficulties And Setbacks

It's not just deadlines – unexpected or otherwise – that can get in the way of being productive. There will be times when you struggle to get started and find yourself demotivated, off‐course, or discouraged. There will be interruptions, delays, hold‐ups, and setbacks.

Let's start with getting started. If you're in the habit of putting off getting started on a task or project, you've probably become very good at coming up with other activities that are, all of a sudden, more important or enjoyable.

It's easy to persuade yourself, for example, that filling in your expense claims or finishing writing a report can wait. Right now, cleaning the kitchen is more important. Of course, under normal circumstances, cleaning the kitchen wouldn't be something you'd be in a rush to get started on – but compared with filling in your expense claims, marking those essays, or getting started on writing that report, a bit of cleaning becomes an attractive alternative! Or maybe you've persuaded yourself that you'll get started on that new project once you've answered a few e‐mails. Perhaps you've convinced yourself that you really must; it's imperative those e‐mails get answered right now.

How does this happen? Why is it that despite your good intentions, it's so easy to put things off? A good way to understand it is by imagining that you have two selves: your ‘present self’ and your ‘future self’. When you set goals for yourself, you're making plans for your future self and your future life. And it looks good!

However, while you can have good intentions for your future self, only your present self can do something about them. And when the time comes to actually do something, you're no longer making a choice for your future self. Now you're in the present and you are having to make a decision for your present self.

So, the present self and the future self are in conflict. ‘I ought to get started. But do I really have to do this now? Can't it wait till later? I really should do something. But I can't be bothered.’

Your future self wants to have achieved something; but the present self can't make the effort. Why?

Your good intentions come from the rational, reasoning part of your brain – the part that thinks things through and recognizes the benefits of doing something and eventually achieving it. However, in the present moment, it's easy for emotions to take over; feelings of apathy and resentment can undermine your intentions and convince you not to do something.

Perhaps, though, you feel overwhelmed by pressure. Putting things off can often be a way of coping with any uncertainty or anxiety you feel about the activity. If what you have to do is something new – an unfamiliar task – you might be unsure about how to do it or be unsure about how much time it will take to complete. Furthermore, if it's not urgent – if the deadline is far off – it's easier to do nothing or to do a familiar task instead.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.