Greensboro Bar Association
  • About Us
    • The Greensboro Bar Association
      • About The GBA
      • GBA History
      • GBA Leadership
      • GBA Bylaws
      • GBA Committees
      • Contact Us
    • The GBA Foundation
      • About the GBA Foundation
      • GBA Foundation Leadership
      • GBA Foundation Grants
      • GBA Foundation Bylaws
    • The 24th Judicial District Bar
      • About the 24th District Bar
      • 24th District Bar Leadership
      • 24th District Bar Bylaws
  • For The Public
    • Member Directory
    • Complaints Against Attorneys
    • Useful Links
  • For Members
    • Membership
      • Member Directory
      • GBA Creed
      • Benefits of Membership
      • Join the GBA
      • Member Account Login
      • My Account
    • Get Involved
      • Member News
      • Sections
      • Young Lawyers Section
      • Committees
      • GBA Events
      • Newsletter
      • GBA Foundation Fellows
      • Legal Community Events
    • Member Resources
      • BarCARES
      • Awards
      • Memorials
      • Sustaining Members
      • Lessons from Legends
  • Join
  • Login
  • Find a Lawyer
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

20 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination in 2020

February 28, 2020/in March 2020

Camille Stell
is President and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

Though control is an illusion, conquering procrastination allows us to gain a sense of control over our days. While we may not be in control of outcomes, we can control a few moments of the day when we push through our to-do list.

Often the dread of a task uses more time and energy than the task itself. Here are 20 tips to help you avoid procrastination:

  1. Do the job you dread the most first.
  2. Concentrate on one task at a time.
  3. If it takes longer to write the task on a to-do list, then go ahead and do it.
  4. Select one task to do that you have been avoiding and Just. Do. It. Then celebrate the win.
  5. If you are avoiding the job because you hate one aspect of the job, tackle that part first.
  6. If you are avoiding the job because it takes too long to gather the component parts, set up a designated area. For example, you don’t mind sending handwritten notes, but you hate the inefficiency it takes to gather the supplies. Create a correspondence station at your desk with personalized note cards, return address labels, and stamps.
  7. Often, we procrastinate because we imagine the job will take longer than it actually does. Keep track of how long you work on the project, so next time you will know what to expect.
  8. Use a timer for uninterrupted work. Use the Pomodoro app for 25-minute stretches or your mobile device to set your own pace.
  9. Replace your excuses with positive self-talk about the rewards of completing the task.
  10. Build your muscle of discipline as you build your physical muscles. If you would hire a coach, join a gym, set a workout schedule, and calendar time for the gym, then consider hiring a productivity coach, commit your goals to paper, set small daily goals, and celebrate wins as they occur.
  11. It can be emotionally draining to have undone tasks hanging over you. To enhance your mental health, tackle your to-do list
  12. Rather than add an item to your to-do list, say no to a request to do something that is not necessary or does not move your goals forward.
  13. Don’t allow perfectionism to prevent you from moving forward. Sometimes good enough is good enough.
  14. Don’t allow the fear of making the wrong decision paralyze you. As Yoda says, “Do or do not. There is no try.”
  15. According to author, Barbara Kingsolver, “There is no perfect time to write. There’s only now.” This works for writing, but also for other projects that are stuck on your list.
  16. Prioritize. You can’t do it all. You can’t read it all. You can’t learn it all.
  17. Set your priorities for the day at the end of the prior day or before you start each day’s work. Then, on a sticky note or small note pad, list 3 things that must get done today. Not too many, not too few, find the number that works for you based on real priorities.
  18. Use your high-productivity hours for top-priority projects.
  19. Do not start the day with email. Take a quick scan if necessary, to make sure there are no true emergencies, then close email down. Managing email is not the same as getting work done. Schedule time in your day to work on email and honor a time limit.
  20. Do not overschedule your day. Leave time for creative work or unexpected emergencies.

Conclusion

Marion Wright Edelman, the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar (in 1965), spent a lifetime providing a voice for poor children, children of color, and children with disabilities. I would imagine she knew a little something about an overloaded to-do list. I’ll leave you with her words for breaking through procrastination:

“Lord, help me to sort out what I should do first, second and third today and to not try to do everything at once and nothing well. Give me the wisdom to delegate what I can and to order the things I can’t delegate, to say no when I need to, and the sense to know when to go home.”

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on X
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.greensborobar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GBA-Logo-2.png 0 0 Greensboro Newsletter https://www.greensborobar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GBA-Logo-2.png Greensboro Newsletter2020-02-28 18:30:042020-02-28 18:30:0420 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination in 2020

NEWS CATEGORIES

  • COVID-19 Updates
  • Frontpage Articles
  • Newsletters
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020

RECENT COMMENTS

    TAGS

    annual meeting food fun gba judicial district 18 members monthly meeting picnic special event

    The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by the Greensboro Bar Association and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, members, legal professions featured or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

    Find Us

    Physical Address:
    Greensboro Bar Association
    24th Judicial District Bar
    122 North Elm Street, Suite 805
    Greensboro, NC 27402
    (336) 378-0300

    Mailing Address:
    Greensboro Bar Association
    24th Judicial District Bar
    PO Box 1825
    Greensboro, NC 27402

    Contact Us

      Your Name:*

      Your Email:*

      Your Message:*

      @2023 Greensboro Bar Association | All rights reserved | Design by Grow Fish | Hosted by Powered By Fish
      • X
      • Facebook
      • Mail
      • Join
      • Login
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      Join Us for the Legal Aid of North Carolina 2020 BenefitYoung Lawyers Section: Connections
      Scroll to top

      This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

      OKLearn More

      Cookie and Privacy Settings



      How we use cookies
      Essential Website Cookies
      Other external services
      How we use cookies

      We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

      Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

      Essential Website Cookies

      These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

      Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

      We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

      We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

      Other external services

      We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

      Google Webfont Settings:

      Google Map Settings:

      Google reCaptcha Settings:

      Vimeo and Youtube video embeds: