Why Can't I Just Do It!

Mind Tools Newsletter 73 - 1st May 2007 This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received it because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just click the links at the bottom of this email.

Contents: What's New? "Why Can’t I Just Do It?" A Final Note

Three little words of English that are known the world over: “Just do it!” Direct and motivational, they’ve been doing it for Nike for over 20 years now.

Marketing campaigns and sneakers aside, what stops you going out and “Just Doing It”? Well, procrastination is one of the big reasons. We know from experience and we hear it time and again from our readers and members.

Whether you are in need of some “Just Do It!” motivation to get out and get fitter, or to get on with your next project at work, our article this week is set to help you.

The article “Why Can’t I Just Do It?” is taken from our popular Coaching Clinic, a regular event in the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club. The article is written by Sharon Juden, one of our team of experienced career and life coaches, Sharon also hosts Coaching Clinics in the club forum.

What's New?

The latest new articles at Mind Tools explore The McKinsey 7S Model, and Benzinger’s Personality Types. Benzinger’s Personality Types help you understand how different types of work suit different people, whilst the McKinsey 7Ss article introduce you to this classic business strategy framework. (And in true Mind Tools style, of course, we help you put the framework to practical use within your team or organization).

Meanwhile, in the Career Excellence Club, we’ve been discussing topics ranging from relaxing after a hard day’s work to building expert power. Mind Tools coach Midgie Thompson also ran a new club event this week – a live teleclass on making a great first impression. This was a great shared learning opportunity! And it was good to speak in person with members who joined the class, after having ‘met’ them in the club forum.

Well that’s all the news for now, so don’t put it off a moment longer – Just Do It, and enjoy this week’s newsletter article!

Best wishes!

  

James Manktelow & Rachel Thompson

James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson
MindTools.com
Mind Tools – Essential skills for an excellent career!

To find out about new tools on the Mind Tools site the moment they’re uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed), or here to find out more about RSS.

New Article

"Why Can't I Just Do It?"

Based on a Coaching Clinic with Sharon Juden at the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club

How many times have you asked yourself the question “Why can’t I just get on and DO it?” You find something more interesting to do or stare at a blank sheet of paper … You ask yourself the question again, only to come up with no answer at all! Next time, you tell yourself, you’ll be better organized, more motivated, but somehow next time turns out to be like all the other times…

Procrastination is an all too common issue. Whether you're having trouble getting started, getting finished or you're stuck somewhere in between, it's very frustrating indeed.

So this Coaching Clinic is designed to shed some light on the problem. If you stop to ask yourself the question: "Why can't I just get on and DO it?", it can help you get to the root of the problem, and so help you get "unstuck". Let's consider the question in more depth:

Why?

What is it that is holding me back?
As with any issue you might have, we need to look carefully at the feelings that arise when thinking about the issue. Are you afraid that you might fail, or perhaps even afraid that you might succeed?

Take the online test below, and click the 'Calculate my total' button at the foot of the test the assess your motivation skills.

Can’t
Am I in the wrong frame of mind to start (or finish) this task?
Are you feeling de-motivated by it or bored at the prospect of having to do it? Is it the ‘wrong’ time? Do you feel you aren’t able to do the job; lacking enough experience or information to do it properly?

I
Do I feel inadequate in myself?
Do you lack the self-belief and self-confidence to do the job?

Do
Am I clear about the tasks?
Perhaps you can’t see the bigger picture and how this particular task fits in with your overall desired outcome. Perhaps you are bogged down by planning: You think, you plan, you make notes, but you don’t actually know what to do.

It
Are my priorities clear?
Are you mixing up important issues with urgent ones and setting your priorities in the wrong place? Are you doing lots of other tasks but failing to do what you really should be doing at this moment?

Exercise – Why Do Your Procrastinate?

Consider each of the questions above, and brainstorm the reasons why you are procrastinating. Think about both practical reasons and how you feel about this task.

Once you have written down all your reasons, identify any tangible blockers. These are resources, information that you need to gather from other people, research that you need to do, and so on. All these are things that you need to action promptly or they’ll keep on stalling you. Choose one that you’re going to action today – you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that’s one step in the right direction.

The other reasons for procrastination are about mindset and your approach to the task or project. So how do we deal with these?

Procrastination-Busting Tactics

There are lots of reasons why you might be procrastinating, and, once you’ve actioned the tangible blockers, it’s all about making sure you have the right mindset and approach. So let’s looks at some of the ways achieve this:

Take a first step forward
Sometimes, we feel we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. And one of the most effective ways to get over that feeling is to do something (anything really!) just to get things going. Choose something that you know you can achieve, and do it, congratulate yourself and then move on to the next task.

Know your goals and motivation
Often we put things off because we don’t have a clear ‘vision’ of what we want our final outcome to be. When your goal is fuzzy, this impacts your energy levels, your motivation and naturally your output.

You need to be very clear about what it is you want to achieve and how this will benefit you. Once you have established a positive base, you then have more leverage to incite yourself into action. If you know how something is going to be of benefit to you, you’re more likely to do it.

Plan your deadlines
We all need deadlines! If you don’t have a specific end point in mind, you’re far less likely to achieve it. So be very clear on when a particular task needs to be done by, and then work backwards from that date, identifying smaller steps leading ultimately to the main goal.

Focus on what’s important (rather than urgent)
Rather than being sidetracked by lots of perceived ‘urgent’ issues, remember that it is the important tasks which get you closer to your goal. When you organize work so you meet all your deadlines, you become more efficient, and therefore accomplish a lot more. You will also probably be calmer and easier to be around, because you’re not bouncing from one crisis to another. And this means that you will be better able to deal with truly urgent situations as they arise.

Listen to yourself
Each of us has a unique body clock and concentration curve. By matching your task to the right time of day, and how you are feeling, you can have a big impact on your effectiveness. Choose to deal with the most demanding tasks when your natural energy is at its highest, and you will get more done in less time. If you think most creatively and concisely first thing in the morning, plan your creative tasks accordingly.

Acknowledge your achievements
Very importantly too, after achieving each major step towards your goal, take time to acknowledge yourself, congratulate yourself, for having done so. You would do that for a good friend or colleague, so why not do it for yourself? It’s motivating; it makes you feel good about yourself. And when you believe that you can actually do it, and that you want to do it, you’ll have banished procrastination, once and for all!

If coaching is the next step for your career, you can join Mind Tools Career and Life Coach, Sharon Juden, for personal 1:1 coaching by phone, or for forum based Coaching Clinics in the Career Excellence Club.

© Mind Tools Ltd, 2008.

The Mind Tools Store:

• The Career Excellence Club (The Mind Tools members area): Make career development and every-day part of your life with member-only discussion forums, the Mind Tools Extended Toolkit, downloadable MP3-based Book Insights and Interviews, regular coaching, training, and much, much more. More >>
  
  
• Personal Coaching from Career Excellence Professionals: Find career and life direction, bring your job under control, build self-confidence and put yourself on the path to long term success with a Mind Tools coach. Our coaches give you the focused personal coaching you need to make the very most of your career and life. More >>

A Final Note From James

Procrastination is one of those things that can lead to endless wasted time and missed opportunities. I hope you enjoyed the Coaching Clinic, and that it’s helped you “Just Do” one more thing today!

If you’re procrastinating about the next step in your career, Sharon’s Coaching Clinics are just one of the great resources in the Career Excellence Club, so why not check it out for yourself (as you may already know, it’s only US$1 for the first month - pay by credit card, and the equivalent in your own currency is charged to your account). Or if 1:1 Career and Life Coaching interests you, find out more or email Sharon.

In our next newsletter, in two weeks’ time, we take a look at whether you are a cautious or courageous decision maker. So join us then, and in the meantime, enjoy all that’s on offer at the Mind Tools site!

James Manktelow

Click here to email
Mind Tools
Essential Skills for an Excellent Career!

Privacy Policy:
Mind Tools will treat your email address with complete respect and will not circulate it to any third party.

To unsubscribe, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email we sent you.

IIf you are not already a member and you would like to subscribe, please visit the mindtools.com site and subscribe using the form on the right hand side bar.

© Mind Tools Ltd, 2007.
If you have enjoyed this issue, please feel free to email it on to your friends and co-workers. If you think they would benefit from the skills we teach, please pass this newsletter on!

Also, you are very welcome to post this issue of the newsletter to your own web site. If you do, you must leave it completely intact, include copyright information, and include both the URL of the mindtools site (http://www.mindtools.com) and the subscription email address for the newsletter (http://www.mindtools.com/subscribe.htm).

---

Where to go from here: