It is a cold dreary day today and I’d rather be snuggled under a comforter watching Fred Astaire dance his way into Ginger Rogers’ heart than sitting here wondering what my readers will stop to read. What do you do when faced with such a quandary? Take a 90-minute lunch break and watch an old black and white film? Steel yourself to just plow through whatever the task is at hand? Skip out of work altogether and go to a matinee telling yourself you’ll make it up on the weekend? After all, you are your own boss for a reason. (Only partly joking there.)
So, let’s figure out why the procrastination is going on. Are you afraid of a new challenge? Or, bored with the same outcome and routine. Are you trying to fill a 2-hour time slot with an 8-hour agenda? What do you want to have for an end result? Writing an entire newsletter in one sitting can be done if you have been creating the content throughout the month and simply cutting and pasting links to accompany an intro sentence or two. However, creating a whole newsletter in one chunk is not a good idea. What about a compromise? Do the short list in front of you and watch a favorite scene from your movie collection. Sometimes allowing the down time is the best option. You are motivated to get you work done and the reward is sweeter knowing you have accomplished your To Do list for the day.
Creative solutions increase productivity. Pause for a little playtime and invite the muse to approach your current challenge sideways instead of tackling it head on. You’ll be surprised what solutions float to the surface of your consciousness.