Worksheets :::1:::
WARNING: This PDF is for your personal use only. You may NOT Give Away, Share Or Resell This Intellectual Property In Any Way All Rights Reserved Copyright 2012 Zach Browman. All rights are reserved. You may not distribute this report in any way. You may not sell it, or reprint any part of it without written consent from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. A note on the exercises: If you really want to be rid of procrastination - don t skip over any of these exercises, and don t just do them in your mind. The act of writing things down is a key part of the process - not just so you can reference it later, but because the act of writing helps you to get a clearer picture. Writing things down helps your half-formed and unarticulated thoughts more tangible. I ve made it easy for you by creating PDFs where you can write right inside them. You don t need to print these out, you don t need a pen and paper, you don t even need to open a separate document on your computer. Once you re finished, you can save each assignment with your answers in it. I also want to encourage you to do each of the exercises even if you don t think they re incredibly relevant to you. This program is structured in a very specific way where each assignment builds on the ones before it. If you skip over a section, it ll be harder for you to continue. So start by making yourself a promise to do ALL the exercises. :::2:::
Assignment 5 Indecision If you re innovating, moments of confusion and indecision are unavoidable. But when you avoid a decision for too long, it stops the sense of progress and forward movement in your projects that is so important for your enjoyment of work. The Greek legend of Sisyphus was punished by being sentenced to the task of forever pushing a rock up a hill which, just when he reached the summit, would tumble down the other side causing him to start over. The Greek s understood how frustrating and infuriating it is to put effort into things which make no progress. From an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense that we re wired to avoid putting effort into things which aren t rewarding. I personally struggled with indecision-related procrastination for years. For example, years ago I wanted to write a book so every day I d draw up an outline. I didn t want to start writing until I had the outline perfect. So every day I d sit down to work and start over on the outline, making tiny adjustments, but making no real progress. After a while, I dreaded working on it. The problem is, an outline can help guide you, but there s no way to know for sure if it ll work until you actually start writing. As soon as I became AWARE of what I was doing, I was able to move on to the next step. If you can recognize moments of indecision for what they are and move through them quickly and effectively, they don t have to interfere with your focus, your enjoyment of work, or your productivity. :::3:::
So the first step is to recognize when indecision is the source of your procrastination. What do you tend to be indecisive about? (ie. what projects to take on, what to do first, exactly how to word emails) If indecision is causing you to procrastinate now, you can do these exercises right away. Otherwise, you may want to save them until you re faced with moments of indecision that are causing you to go around in circles or avoid work entirely. Are there any decisions you re putting off right now? What are they? :::4:::
The next step is to identify the source of your indecision. Indecision always comes from the sense that you re lacking something - some ability or information - to make a good decision. When you feel this way, there are two possibilities: 1. You re right. You don t have enough information to proceed. Ok, let's say you're right and you re not equipped with enough information - for example, this is your first time writing a book and you simply don't know where to start. So you need to find answers. Although this may sound obvious, you'd be amazed at how many people get stuck the moment they're required to find out for themselves how to do something. Leaders, entrepreneurs, successful people are resourceful - they're good at finding ways to fill the gaps in their knowledge. One thing stopping people from doing the research is the sense that time spent finding the answers is time spent that could be driving the project forward. However, if you NEED this information, remember that researching what to do IS driving the project forward. Here s a list of ways to find the answers you re looking for. - Search engines - Yahoo answers - Look at forums on the subject, or ask your own question on the subject - Look for tutorials on YouTube - Talk to an experienced friend or mentor - Buy a how to book or product - Pay an expert to teach you or advise you - Outsource it to a professional :::5:::
2. You re wrong. More information will not make the decision easier Ok, so you ve tried to find the answers, but you still don t feel ready to make a decision. The truth is, you will probably never FEEL ready. So how do you know when you have enough information? When the cost of not deciding outweighs the risk of making a 'wrong' decision Great leaders have to make decisions with incomplete information. It's the same thing with self-leaders. Your difficulty making a decision with the information you have could come from a number of places: Cause: Low Self-Efficacy Are you experiencing indecision as a result of self-doubt in your ability? For examples, I m going to imagine you want to get into event planning but you re hesitating due to self-doubt. 1. Break down the task into sub-tasks... (finding locations, hiring caterer, finding and booking entertainment, inviting guests, selling tickets, promoting event etc.) :::6:::
2. Identify the specific sub-task that you lack confidence in. (I have no problem with the promotions side, but I worry about coordinating the event itself) 3. Are there any parallels with things you ve done in the past? (ie. I ve never organized a major event, but I did help plan my sister s wedding and that went well) 4. Can you try it on a smaller scale? (I could start with a small event and work my way up to bigger events) 5. Is there a way to improve your skill in this area? (There s a course on event planning at the local community college I could take) 6. Do you know anyone similar to yourself who s accomplished this? (My friend Wendy got into event planning with no formal training and is doing quite well at it. Maybe I can too) :::7:::
Cause: Perfectionism As Voltaire said The perfect is the enemy of the good Meaning, of course, that needing things to be perfect can stop you from putting something out there that s good. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. What is keeping my options open costing me? 2. Is there a wrong decision? 3. What do I fear will happen if I make a bad decision? 4. Am I waiting for the perfect solution to present itself? 5. Is this decision irreversible? :::8:::
Accept that there may not be a perfect solution. If perfectionism is keeping you from moving things forward, add 5 minutes to the start of your work reminding yourself of your answers to the preceding questions. Cause Competing Goals One cause of indecision is that each choice seems to contradict some goal or value that you have. For example, if you re starting a business you may have to decide between making quick money, or building something that will last. If you re writing a book, you may have to decide between doing something that s safe and you know will sell, and something that gets a message out you want people to hear. There s no right decision here. If you need to feed your family, you may want to do something that makes you money in the short term so you re free to do something more meaningful after. There s nothing wrong with that as long as it s a choice, and you re not contradicting your values (like taking advantage of people and taking their money without really helping them). Are you having trouble with a decision because of conflicting goals? Write down the goals and values affected by this decision. :::9:::
Is there a way you can accomplish all of these goals in different ways or at different times? (ie. write one book that makes you fast money, and one that gets your message out?) If not, choose the one that you can live with the most easily. If it contradicts your values, don t do it. If it s necessary for survival, then you may have to put your loftier goals on hold. Cause: Clinging to your darlings Sometimes we re having trouble moving forward because we re trying to make something work that just isn t working. For example you may have started writing a musical about the life of Marilyn Munroe, only to find that the arch of her life doesn t really work as a musical. Are you attached to a certain idea or concept that s no longer serving you? (ie. I must cover her entire life from her childhood to her death) :::10:::
If so, return to your overarching goals. Is there a way to accomplish your goals in other ways? (ie. I started out wanting to write a musical and thought Marilyn would make a great main character. Perhaps I could restrict the musical to her relationship with Joe DiMaggio) Ok - that Marilyn Munroe thing was off the top of my head - I know very little about her life, but if you do decide to write a musical about her, I hope you ll credit me as inspiration :) Daily Tracker: If indecision is a problem for you: Add indecision reminders to your daily tracker Include decisions made as part of your daily successes. Don t you dare click this box until you ve posted in the comments section :::11:::