This week, I had time off from teaching and was looking forward to catching up on a to do list of projects and tasks that I haven’t been able to get to.
But when it came time for me to get to work, all I wanted was to relax. It’s my week off, right?
Well, I knew that if I didn’t do what I had been planning, I’d feel pretty crummy next week. So I put on my big girl pants and tackled the list.
When you find yourself avoiding your TO DO list, here are a few “tricks” to make it a little more bearable.
- Whatever you’re dreading, do it first. Just get it out of the way. It’ll be over and you won’t be bogged down by the dread any longer.
- Then prioritize your list. What’s most urgent? What’s most important? (Note: “urgent” and “important” aren’t always the same thing.)
- Work in small chunks of time. I worked for an hour and then gave myself a break. If an hour still seems too overwhelming, try 30 or even 15 minutes.
- Reward yourself for the time you put in, not necessarily what you get done. After every hour of working, I gave myself a ten-minute break with my current book or with a game of Tetris.
- Keep track of what you get done. Give yourself the satisfaction of crossing things off your list! It will keep you motivated to keep going.
