Small pieces

One of the greatest things I've learned in the past month has really helped me deal with not giving in to procrastination. Thanks to Meggin McIntosh, "The PhD of Productivity"  (http://www.meggin.com/) I no longer wait for that imaginary "block of time" that I think I need to accomplish the tasks on my to-do list. Instead, I tackle much smaller pieces in the much smaller periods of time that I actually have in between interruptions. If I have 10 emails to send, I'll take a few minutes to send one at a time instead of putting off all 10 until I have two uninterrupted hours. It's amazing how much stress relief you can realize from finishing one or two small things.

Thinking about finite tasks instead of large goals has really helped prepare for my upcoming move. I can usually find some task that fits into the amount of time I have before my next scheduled appointment or meeting. I can pack one box. Or I can empty one cupboard. Or email one friend. And I continually make progress towards the larger goals, which then get smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

I know this is nothing new - I've been telling myself to approach my work this way for a long time. But I kept putting it off until I had a bigger block of time to make my to-do list...