Do you really perform best under pressure? It could just be a lie you use to convince yourself that you know how to organize your work effectively. It is one of the most typical excuses of procrastinators, people who constantly postpone their tasks. They tell themselves why they postpone their obligations until the last minute. However, in reality, they are not waiting for adrenalin. They simply have no other choice.
You will probably not be surprised when we tell you that the solution to a last-minute work problem is to divide big tasks into smaller parts to finish gradually. Fastcompany.com also recommends setting your own deadline to finish a task earlier than the real one. Multiply the time you expect you will need to finish a difficult task by three, and then you will not have to finish the whole project at the last minute, only the final part.
And what other lies about working productively do we often try to tell ourselves?
"I have to take my work home."
Wouldn't it be better to set you priorities in a more effective way? Working for a long time does not mean working effectually. Try to make the most of your working time. Do not rely on finishing your work at home.
"I have to do everything on my to-do list."
Doing the right things at the right time is much more productive. Do not keep the most demanding tasks for the afternoon, do them in the morning. Focus on less important tasks on your list later in the day. Having a to-do list is important, and you do not have to stress about forgetting something.
"Meetings must take place in the morning."
Most meetings do not address fundamental issues, and therefore should be held in the afternoon. Morning meetings often waste the time you could have devoted to the most important tasks of the day. You are not able to concentrate for the rest of the day and often end up taking work home in the evening. By rescheduling meetings to the afternoon you may save up to one working day per week.
"There is no need to fix something that works."
You might think that if you don't deal with problems until something happens, you will save time and energy, but the opposite is true. The fact that a process has worked well for a long time does not mean that there are no better tools available to make it work even better. Try to promote discussion with the people around you about the possibilities of improving work processes.
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