As part of my online career, nothing has challenged me more than the constant battle against procrastination. Though I’ve come to learn that productivity is a very personal issue – and we all work very differently – I thought I’d share with you the methods that have begun to work for me.
The Four Tricks I’ve Discovered to Help Me Beat Procrastination
1) Set a Timer: I use the Action Machine to do this, but you can actually use a simple kitchen timer. Set it for thirty minutes, and write a blog post in that time. Or set it for 90 minutes and do some serious work on one of your websites. Whatever it is, focus until the timer pings.
2) Block Unnecessary Distractions: This is a recent finding for me and I love it. I use an add-on called LeechBlock for Firefox that allows you to enter the websites you use to procrastinate (for me, that means Facebook, forums, YouTube and so on), then you set a time (e.g. an hour and a half) to block access to all of these. The best thing is you can’t just simply backtrack on your decision and unblock them again, so it forces you to get things done.
3) Start on the Most Important Tasks: I’m trying to get into the habit of writing down my three most important tasks for the day in my diary before I get started. I have the best days when I start working on them in the morning and get them out of the way first thing. That way, by lunchtime, I can usually say I’ve truly achieved something!
4) Limit Your Working Hours: I wrote about this in a post recently. By having a set limit as to when you want, or need, to finish, you’ll become more productive as you’ll avoid procrastination and just get things done – instead of always extending how much time you’ve got to get the job done.
So there you have it, four things that have become a winning combination for me. There are times when absolutely nothing will work, but generally I find that this is the way I work best. Notice I haven’t even mentioned that I write a to-do list: that goes without saying!
So what works best for you? Do you disagree with my points, are you strict on yourself, or do you just go with the flow? What’s your number one productivity tip?
~ Web Career Girl
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Forest (4)
Loren Jaslyn (4)
Des @ Affiliate P... (3)
Eric (3)
John (3)
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Twitter: bluepop13
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February 8th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
If you make sure to get done what’s most important for the day and do it fast and as accurately as you possibly can while still getting other things done also, you should be good to go.
I always like getting anything worth while done as it motivates me to get more done because of how it feels to accomplish any task at hand.
Good article!
Eric´s last blog ..Real Or Robot
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Eric – It’s always great to have days like that, you’re right that getting into that mindset really helps things go well afterwards too. Sounds like you’ve got your productivity sorted quite well!
Twitter: Kidgas
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February 8th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Number 3 is your most important point for me. If I want to get something done, I need to write it down. There is something that is psychologically satisfying about seeing an item on a list and being able to cross it off.
Kidgas´s last blog ..Advertising My Blog
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Kidgas – You’re right! I love crossing items off my list
Twitter: canderson3
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February 8th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
This is something I’m currently struggling with to a degree. I’m going to try and implement some of these soon. This is a nice little list thank you.
Christopher Anderson´s last blog ..35 Things I Have Learned From Working Online
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Christopher – I hope they help!
Twitter: arafat21
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February 8th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I have schedule work as a full time blogger and I schedule a time for each type of productive work related to my blog but it’s true that I don’t want to be bound on time and I spend time the way I want on that moment. However, a to-do list always great, at least it tells you what you are doing and what should you do.
Arafat Hossain Piyada´s last blog ..Download AnyBizSoft PDF to Word Converter For Free
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Arafat – At least if you have a to do list you can still have a free schedule, as you always know what needs doing next at your next free moment to work.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Something that you didn’t mention, that has worked wonders for me, is to take full advantage of the times that you’re already inspired to work. The biggest challenge with procrastination is just getting the ball rolling. If you’re already working on things, just keep the momentum by tackling one more thing. Even if it’s only one sentence, you’ve managed to break the barrier for the next time and it will be that little bit less daunting to start again.
Another trick I use is to mentally tell myself I don’t have to start immediately. I know that sounds odd but bear with me here
… As I mentioned, getting started is often the toughest part of the task. For example, if I’m writing an article and the first sentence eludes me or seems daunting, I’ll just go straight into the meat of the article and even though it doesn’t make sense at first, I’ll add the first sentence in later when my mojo has returned.
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Jack – This is a very good point too. Those days where you really *want* to work are fantastic, and you should definitely make the most of them. And yes I did think what you said sounded odd, but then I understood what you meant – I do the very same thing when writing, it makes it so much easier!
Twitter: 7somewhere
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February 8th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Hi Ruth – thanks for stopping by my blog today
I was trying to read your blog updates on my iphone earlier and had a couple of issues I thought you should know about. First – your RSS feed is only showing parts of your posts but it doesn’t highlight that fact so it looks like they are just short posts. Not sure why that is. Second – I tried to comment but then got thrown out as I don’t have cookies and javascript – I wonder if that’s your spam protection? Anyway thought you should know.
Back on topic – you make a good point about writing down three must dos and I might give that a try. I do find that I am much more productive if I get the big things out of the way. All too often I find myself wasting time playing with the simple tasks lol
Clare´s last blog ..Xfactor sites 3 and 4 go live
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Clare – Thank you so much for letting me know about these. About the RSS feed, I just changed it now thanks to your suggestion as I think readers prefer to read full feeds anyway. But I’m not sure about the cookies/ javascript thing. Hmm, I will try to get to the bottom of that, could it be my commentluv??
As for the productivity, I am the same as you! Simply figuring out what’s important and what isn’t really helps.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Yeah I meant to mention that, too. The RSS feed is (was) only showing the excerpt. I just sent an e-mail to Tiffany Dow explain the same thing to her. It must be in the air.
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Thanks Jack, hopefully it should be showing the whole post now! My theme uses excerpts on the homepage so hopefully that won’t interfere.
Twitter: lbogaerts
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February 11th, 2010 at 12:25 am
I only use excerpts for my rss feeds, that way, when my feed is used on another site to give that one content, I at least get traffic as they need to click through to my blog to read the full article.
Just my two cents on this topic, now off to write my own comment to this post LOL
Leslie
Leslie´s last blog ..Following A Process … And Getting Results
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 11th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Thanks Leslie, I do this too but just decided not to on this particular one. On my niche blogs I’m still just showing the excerpt.
Twitter: WriterGig
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February 8th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Procrastination and distraction are big killers of productivity. I make a “sticky note” on my computer at the beginning of each work session outlining my to-do list for the time I’ll be working and refer to it as I finish each task. It helps!
Maria (WriterGig)´s last blog ..My Online Residual Income: Sources
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Maria – Good idea with the sticky note, having it right there in front of you I imagine means you always stay focused on what really matters.
Twitter: pfincome
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February 9th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Blocking distractions is my biggest problem. Sometimes all it takes is getting in a quiet room and focusing on my top tasks. Will need to check out the tool that you mentioned.
John´s last blog ..The $5 Mini-Site Formula Review
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
John – You’re right, quiet can work wonders sometimes. Hope the tool helps you!
Twitter: frugalzeitgeist
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February 9th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Ive been working on limited hours for the last two weeks and along with timing myself it’s really helping me just get stuff done… Glad your getting over the darn procrastination problems too.
Forest´s last blog ..How To Avoid Going To The Supermarket
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Forest – Yeah the timing thing has been the best thing for me, well worth the money I spent on that program. It’s a constant battle but I’ve improved so much
February 9th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
That Leech Block sounds interesting I’ll have to give it a try, as I always seem to have about ten tabs open in Firefox. I wonder if v2.0 can hide the kettle also!
Des – Affiliate Progress´s last blog ..Free Affiliate Tools – Part 1 – Keyword Research
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Des – I hope it works for you, I love it! Hopefully they will get that upgrade in soon
February 9th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
It’s amazing how things happen sometimes. Some days I’ll have busy offline day and be upset that I didn’t get online ’til 2-3pm…then end up getting more done then I do working all day other days. lol
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Here We Go! Theme Construction Part 1 – Your Participation Is Wanted-Needed!
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Dennis – Oh those days are great, sometimes having less time can definitely be a good thing!
February 10th, 2010 at 1:04 am
I have been doing that about setting a timer. I do it to write my blog posts. This works great for me because I push myself to finish within this period of time.
Isaac Ben´s last blog ..What is a time plan and how to do one
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 10th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Isaac – I’m glad you’re another fan of the timer, seems to work really well for many people!
Twitter: lessordinaryli
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February 10th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Ruth -
Loving your blog – fresh, concise, to the point. A great concept and some really powerful ways to boost productivity. I find number 4 is very useful – it is easy to lose track of time and boundaries and get absorbed in pointless “work”. Working hours focus the mind of home workers! Thank you!
Phil
Phil Bolton´s last blog ..Life’s Too Short to be Ordinary
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 11th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Phil – Thanks for your lovely comment
February 10th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Ruth…you’ve done it again. Like Phil says – fresh, concise, to the point. Perspicuity, I love it.
I have downloaded LeechBlock and am ready to implement it. Sometimes having nothing to do but your work is the motivator to get going. Now if only the dozen books I just got from the library wouldn’t distract me
simply stephen´s last blog ..20 things I would do differently when I first started blogging
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 11th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Stephen – Thanks
Good luck using Leechblock. Sometimes it annoys me that I can’t click around and waste time lol, but it really does force me to work.
Twitter: lbogaerts
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February 11th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Very interesting article, Ruth. You gave a few tips I might use myself. Off course, few of them will only work in my ‘free’ worktime, meaning the time when the kids aren’t home, but others might work even when they are around.
The timer, for instance, isn’t something that will work with the kids around because when they need my attention I need to give it, timer or no timer
Will be looking at that Action Machine program, seems interesting enough 
Leechblock isn’t something I really need. Allthough I have my main forum almost constant open, I’m not really going there every five minutes. Just to update my daily action plan when I finish up a job. At that time I read the new posts and that counts as my break.
Like you, I have certain things I start with: my client work. That’s the first thing I need to do and when that’s finished I can get some work in for myself. I do try to get at least 1 hour in for myself each day.
Limit working hours – well, that’s something I need to work on. Because of my ‘interruptions’ when the kids are at home, I tend to work longer in the evening when they are in bed. Like now, for instance, it’s 1.30am where I live (I really should go to bed as I need to get up in three hours LOL)
The best thing that keeps me on track is my to do list off course. Well, actually it’s more lists. I have a notebook (yes, I write those down, blasphemy I know) that has a list for every niche blog I have, a huge client to do list (I just add on the bottom every time I get a new job), and lists for every other project I am working on (like my PLR packages and my ebooks). That way, I know what I need to work on and what needs to get finished. True lifesaver that book is
Leslie´s last blog ..Following A Process … And Getting Results
Twitter: webcareergirl
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February 11th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Leslie – With kids, it seems like there are no rules lol! Interesting to hear a little about the way you work. And I am very impressed that you don’t need Leechblock! If you’re not wasting time like that already then that’s a step above what I’m like (I am terrible sometimes, watching videos on Youtube etc…) Sounds like you have a very good system, and you’re always working very hard around looking after the kids.
Twitter: wchingya
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February 17th, 2010 at 4:25 am
Hi Ruth,
I didn’t hesitate a bit to run in here when saw your post title, guess it means something huh?
LeechBlock – that interest me, maybe will give it a try. I believe discipline plays a big role in this. I’ve tried timetable, timer but ended up with setting tasks to be done for different time range. I’m glad I jump in here even with limiting time spent on blog visits.
Great points, Stumbled.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Ching Ya´s last blog ..7 Features to Brand, Market, Manage with MarketMe Tweet
March 9th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Dear Ruth,
we found this to be a really insightful blog post.
It has often been said that procrastination is a sign of deep unconscious self-doubt. However, the only way to create unshakable self-confidence and self-belief is to take action and keep persisting. Success is the biggest cure for proCrAsTinatION! However success can only be achieved by taking ACTION!
At the end of the day, there is nothing anyone can say, do, or sell to you to make you take action–so “Just Do It” (Thanks to Nike for one of the best motivational slogans in the world).
Best wishes
teNriA