A lesson on procrastination
As some of you will know, I recently took a short break from work to have laser eye surgery. I was advised to take a week off with minimal computer work and reading. In fact, I was told not to do anything with a computer for that week but I can’t ignore my emails completely!
After that week I tried to slip back into my old routine. For a couple of days I worked stoically in the mornings but tired my eyes out and got headaches by the afternoon. No problem I thought, I’ll just take it easy for a few more days. It wasn’t long before my eyes were fully up to standard and I can now spend as many hours as I wish in front of my screen.
At about the same time I realised I’d completely lost my rhythm and began procrastinating jobs in favour of maintaining a broken routine. I got restless and worried about how to complete projects on time. I forced myself to do the work at odd hours and panicked that my standards would slip. The more time I spent putting breaks and disruptions into my routine the more I worried that it would always be this way and every new job would be a chore to complete. I became obsessed with checking my email and updating Twitter for no reason!
Then I realised that I’d experienced periods like this before like when I started my dissertation. It occurred to me that this was just a phase and I decided to write out a work schedule to help me focus. I found that by closing my email accounts and logging out of Google Reader and Twitter I am now able to concentrate on the work in front of me without endlessly flicking between screens and searching my toolbar.
Now when I get to work I open my organiser and check what needs to be done. Friday morning is the new time to update blog posts! O look – that’s exactly what I’m doing. Suddenly it’s become rather easy to stay on top of things.
Now you’ll have to excuse me. It’s almost time for my daily SEO catch up!
