Anti-Procrastination Month ’08: Day 19
October 27th, 2008 by Cristina Favreau
Is it just me, or did October just fly by? Today marks the final week of Anti-Procrastination Month 2008.
As you read this, I’m in the Eastern Townships of Quebec spending the week with my parents and my sister (visiting from New York). The adult to kid ratio is 4:6 — ages ranging from 3½ years old to 1 month old! It’s sure to be an exciting week!!
On that note, today’s tip is all about taking time to replenish yourself in order to remain productive.
Take breaks to go outside and get the blood flowing and get out of the listless rut.
When you don’t want to do a tedious task, remember the visceral good feeling of having finished something. If it’s a very boring task, try listening to an audiobook or old-time radio from the Internet Archive while you work to soak up your extra attention. If even that fails, try getting tipsy and doing it.
Meet with a friend to do a sprint where you’ll both work for 90 minutes on long-term projects you’ve neglected. — Sumana Harihareswara
I’m not sure how rested I’ll feel when I get back, but I know that spending time with my family (especially play time with my kids) will give me the boost I need to start November (and the rest of this year) strong.
How do you unplug?
I live less than a mile from work. So for lunch I always try to go home and eat a salad while listening to National Public Radio. It really does help me to get the extra boost for the rest of the day.
Then the evenings it is Indoor rock climbing. Unlike something like running or basketball, this requires calm steady movements (much like yoga) so it helps me calm my heart rate for about an hour.
Hi Cristina:
Taking a break can be a fabulous recharging strategy – provided it's balanced wtih action and active progress, of course!
I used to go birding (known as bird-watching by non-birders!) but now that we have horses I spend time with them, developing our relationship (and piecesof what I'm learning through this effort I plan on incorporating into my executive and business coaching practice).
I also look through catalogs and read magazines, watch “House” reruns on TV (the only program I watch), and watch films with my husband on Friday or Saturday nights.
One other strategy is whim-days, done once or twice a year: I do whatever I want whenever I want to (no tasks, responsibilities, or obligations allowed), and if I find I'm not enjoying what I'm doing, I just stop (even if whatever it is isn't “finished”) and go do what I now feel like doing.