December 8th, 2009 - Got deadlines? I’ve got solutions!
“The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.” - Nolan Bushnell
Most people love to procrastinate on completing things that they just don’t ‘want’ to do or plain old dislike doing. Another form of procrastination is that we often set goals a year in advance on January 1st and then miraculously expect to have them all accomplished by December 31st of the same year. Or we’ll make a list of these lofty intentions of what we’d like to accomplish for the year and then before we know it, December 31st of the next year has rolled around again and upon reflection, we find we haven’t finished 50% of them! What a vicious circle!
The way I see it, we have two choices: we can mentally press the pause button and wake up on New Years Day when the parades, football games, and shopping blow outs start, or we can start NOW to work on our business ‘wish list’ and not waste months of time doing absolutely nothing. Let’s see, finish the year with a sense of accomplishment, or beat myself up because I wasted my time? Well, I don’t know about you, but it sounds like a no brainer to me.
Whether you’re facing year end deadlines at work, or just want to tie up some loose ends in your everyday world, I believe these action steps will support you.
- Make a list of what you want to do before the end of the year. You have got to know where you are going before you can go there.
- Check off what is an absolute priority. When I say priority, I mean an absolute “must do.”
- Check off what can be realistically delegated. Contrary to popular belief, there are things on your list that can be handled by others. For example, gathering data for end of year reports, copying, phone calls, etc. Asking for support will allow you to get farther, faster, and with less stress.
- Take a look at what is left on your list. Ask yourself if this is a “must do” or a “should do.” If you have some “shoulds” on your list - dump them! Oh, I can hear the “buts” coming up now. No buts! If you have items on your list like that, you are probably not committed to doing them. So why put yourself through the agony of defeat and invalidation? Let them go!
- Make a plan of action. Determine what you will do daily to achieve your goal and what support you will need. The intention is to design a plan that will work for you, not stress you out more.
- Focus on the present and what you have to do today. This step will keep you from going into overwhelm.
- Allow for breakdowns. This is a critical point. This is where you could sabotage yourself and give up. There will be breakdowns. You can’t foresee everything. So just ask yourself, “If this won’t work, what will work?” then continue moving forward.
- Celebrate your sense of accomplishment and success. Reward yourself! You did it! You can now ring in the New Year with a smile of contentment on your face because you took action.
So, let’s see, the choice was mentally press the pause button or finish what you started. You have now got a plan. All it needs is for you to provide the action. Remember, it’s not about finishing, it’s about starting.
If you’re having trouble getting out of overwhelm and into action with your end of the year deadlines, email me at Cookie@CookieTuminello.com to see how we can work out a plan together.
© 2009 Success Source, LLC
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Cookie Tuminello, THE Team Builder of the South, has been empowering teams and igniting productivity since 1999. Learn more about how Cookie empowers CEO's, managers, business owners, and team members in her FREE Report "50 Ways To Go From Overwhelmed to Empowered" and receive weekly Success Tips at www.CookieTuminello.com.
