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Blog: Surfing the Paper Wave
 Overcoming Procrastination
When it comes to dealing with your paper clutter, are you like Gone with the Wind's Scarlett O'Hara, continually putting off disagreeable tasks until a mythical "tomorrow?" Here are some strategies that can help with procrastination, over paper or any other issue. The first step is knowing when you're not procrastinating, which strategies 1 – 3 address:
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Start by asking yourself "Do I know what I should be doing?" If the answer is "No," you're not procrastinating -- you're becoming aware that you need more information. For example, do you need to ask your insurance agent what receipts should be saved in case of a catastrophic loss? Go get that information, and action will come easier.
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Now ask yourself, "Is this vital or important to my top priorities?" Important as staying on top of your paper is, if something else is clearly more pressing in the near term, you're not procrastinating – you're clarifying your priorities. Decide what the most important thing to do is right now, and action should follow.
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Finally, ask yourself, "Do I have all the tools I need for the job?" -- a file storage unit, hanging or manila folders, a good marker? If not, make task #1 assembling those tools.
If you know deep down that you are procrastinating, these techniques can help get you unstuck:
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Write a specific step-by-step to-do list for the project you're putting off: "1-Discard obvious junk mail. 2-Assemble all bills. 3-Set up folder for newly-arriving tax documents, etc." Often, seeing something concrete will get you moving, especially if you're a visual person.
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Talk to people about what you're planning to do. "This is the year I get rid of my paper piles for good." This will have three benefits:
-Listening to yourself will help you get moving, especially if you're an auditory person.
-Those people will probably give you good ideas and/or encouragement.
-Accountability will help you move into action, if only to avoid embarrassment.
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Pick any step on your action list that seems feasible, especially one that involves physical movement or use of your hands. Ripping up outdated paperwork is good for this. If you are what education experts call a tactile-kinesthetic person, this will engage you, and further action is sure to follow.
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Pick any task on the list that will take no more than five to fifteen minutes, no matter how trivial it may seem: labeling file folders; shredding old bills. Promise yourself that you can stop when time is up. Chances are, you won't want to, because momentum will start to build.
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Take advantage of your current mood. If you feel like talking, make that phone call to your insurance agent. If you feel like writing, make your to-do list. If you feel like moving, drive to the office supplies store.
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Reward yourself for doing a task you hate to do. Combine it with something pleasurable, for example, playing your favorite music while you purge old files. Or promise and give yourself the reward when the unpleasant task is done: "As soon as I'm finished going through all these family health records, I'll call my best friend."
Don't put off handling procrastination until tomorrow! Pick the one strategy above that speaks loudest to you, and do it before you go to bed today.
posted on: 1/6/2008 10:30:00 AM by Suzanne Kuhn
category: Paper
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Surfing the Paper Wave
by Suzanne Kuhn
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About Suzanne:
Suzanne Kuhn is the owner of ACE ORGANIZING, offering affordable, customized, energizing organizing solutions to homes, schools and small businesses in the five-county Philadelphia area and central New Jersey. Although an organizing generalist, (she'll organize anything!) Suzanne has a growing specialty in paper and electronic filing systems and financial organizing. To receive her FREE booklet, 50 TOP TIME MANAGAGEMENT TIPS, email her at [email protected]
Suzanne's Website:
http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogList.asp?sort=organizer&schedule=41&name=Suzanne_Kuhn
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