Not a dreaded task, just a boring task

[Anonymous]

So I am hoping for tips on what others do to avoid procrastination. I have my own medical transcription business and I do the work at home. I have great clients and particularly want to do this so I can be home with my children, etc. The only downside is it is repetitive, sedentary and boring. The web tempts me and so does the household and other tasks.

What happens in my work is it is unpredictable how much work I will get on a given day. I usually work from 8:00 or so until 1:30 a.m., then I'm up in the morning and work until noon. That is to accommodate the Dr's deadlines (I give great service and the best deadlines in town). What I am finding though is even if I get a light night I fill up all the time ANYWAY to get the work done.

So does anyone have any ideas? Here are things I have tried:

Turning off browser and email
Setting the timer
Setting the timer and playing prediction games on how much I will get done
Allowing myself to do something else before I start because my deadline sense is really good

All those ideas are great but sometimes I just, plain and simple, SLACK. Then I have wasted all that time I could be GTD or even reading a book. Getting a more interesting job is not an option right now. I'll be eager to hear some ideas from all you experts!

 

[Anonymous]

Not a dreaded task, just a boring task

Try a tip I read in an NLP publication: imagine the consequences of losing the job through poor performance. Imagine that the financial loss, and the panic, and the depression, and the shame, and the loss of reputation, are hurtling towards you, getting larger and more certain and more vivid by the second …. This is a GREAT way to make oneself move sharply in the opposite direction and suddenly find the work on hand interesting and important!

Busydave

 

[Anonymous]

Hm. I hope I did not imply that I am doing shoddy or late work, I am scupulously timely and very professional - my work quality is not in question. What I mean is, I get different amounts of work on any given day. I charge by the line not by the hour so I can dilly dally all I want as long as I turn in excellent work by the deadline - and I always do! What I do find is that on the days that I get a lesser amount of work to do I do not reap the benefits in more hours to get things done in because I'll stretch the work to fit the time I have available until the deadline.

The timer and prediction games are tricks I use but some days I am just contrary with myself. I will try imagining the lose-my-job idea but I am not sure what "NLP" is or how to do it. Thanks for the idea, I'll see if it helps.

Juno

 

[Anonymous]

Not a dreaded task, just a boring task

Hm. I hope I did not imply that I am doing shoddy or late work, I am scupulously timely and very professional

Sorry Juno – as soon as I pressed the Submit button I realised the implication of what I said. It’s just something from my own experience: whenever I sense any sort of lethargy anywhere in the vicinity of my work, I always do a kind of health check on myself to make sure that my attitude towards my work is not suffering.

If I create a renewed sense of urgency about my work, a new vitality spreads across the other areas in my life also: I catch a dose of creative thinking, and I find myself reaching for a pen and paper to write down other things I could also do with this new energy.

In your case it could mean, perhaps, defining a time slot into which the day's work should fit, and then booking the spare thirty minutes, or whatever amount of time is left over, to get a start on some rewarding project that you have been putting off.

If you divide your day into reasonable time slots, and move on them, you should kick into a rewarding, productive mode.

Sorry again!

Dave

 

[Anonymous]

No problem Dave - and I see the wisdom of what you say.

What is the difference between "NLP" and just imagining those consequences? Is "NLP" just a fancy way to say imagine the consequences? How do you do this? I have done searches for NLP but I always end up concluding that the only to learn more about this is to pay a lot of money for tapes or a seminar.

So I am interested in your process, how you get yourself charged up again using your imaginings.

Thanks so much!

Juno

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Juno

Sorry for the delay in my response, but I had a few days vacation since then.

NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming - is a way of putting yourself in a productive frame of mind. It is a set of techniques for generating a sense of optimism, enthusiasm, and moving-towards.

Amazon lists 122 titles when you key in NLP. Anthony Robbins based a sizeable portion of his early work on NLP techniques – you can see this in his book Unlimited Power.

I also read NLP: The New Technology of Achievement by Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner and found it excellent.

NLP should help to remove any negative associations you might have linked to a task – fear, boredom, apprehension and so on. You should be able to replace them with positive emotions that help you through your work instead of hindering you. After all, the actual work itself will be exactly the same no matter what way you approach it, so you might as well have good feelings that speed you through it, rather than feelings that drag you down.

If you search the web for NLP you will get a ton of info also.

Dave