Getting Things Done

What good is a plan if it is never executed? I find myself regularly pondering this question, as I, a chronic planner, often fail to execute. I love making a plan. I’m good at making a plan and doing the research and getting all my proverbial ducks in a row. I have so many ideas, lists and spreadsheets and notebooks full of them, all laid out and ready for action. But the action seldom comes. And once inaction has taken hold, it gets more and more difficult to switch back to action mode. It’s a tricky spiral to get out of.

Looking Past Perfection

One of the biggest roadblocks that keeps planners like me from actually doing is the idea of perfection. Perfectionism is not a positive trait when it comes to wanting to get things done. So much time is spent planning and thinking that when it’s time to actually do, there’s either no energy left or the thought of it not going according to plan is too scary. Perfectionism often leads to a failure to do something because by not doing you are still in control of the outcome. Presenting your work, whether school work, a personal project, or work you get paid for, can be scarier than doing nothing (and failing) because you can’t control the outcome. It’s a trap I’ve fallen into more times than I’d even like admit to myself.

Sometimes your plan isn’t the right plan, either. If you put together goals that can’t be achieved or timelines and tasks that are too specific to be successfully completed, you are setting yourself up for failure just as if you weren’t doing anything at all. While you may at least be getting some things done this way, it can be really demotivating to constantly miss targets and deadlines, even self-imposed ones. In my experience, demotivation most often leads right back to inaction.

Tools for Doing

The ultimate goal of a bullet journal or planner or [insert organizer of choice] is to help you get things done. But as I’ve mentioned, planning to do something doesn’t mean you’ll actually get it done. You can have all the tools in the world to help you prepare, but it won’t matter if you always fall short of actually completing what you plan. I’ve come to find that the tools for doing are quite different from the tools for planning.

Pomodoro

One thing that has worked for me is using the Pomodoro Technique. The basics of the Pomodoro Technique include picking a task, setting a time limit, and doing nothing but that task for that amount of time. Once the time is up, you take a break and refocus. It forces you to both keep going, even if you are struggling, but also forces you to take a break rather than get burned out.

I bought myself a really nice timer that happens to fit with my decor but also is completely silent. No ticking to distract me and give weight to the passing of time. The timer I use is specifically designed to be used with the Pomodoro Technique and specifically counts only 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes intervals.

There are so many other options for timers, including your phone, various apps, and other physical timers. If you choose to try this route, my biggest suggestion is to use something that won’t, in and of itself, become a distraction. I, for example, know that picking my phone up to use as a timing device is going to result in a greater chance of my focus being lost and wasting time instead. Something separate and silent works best for me. Others do really well with apps designed to reward you for leaving your phone alone.

Timeboxing

Timeboxing is another option that works well for some. The basics of Timeboxing include setting set time frames and deadlines for projects and tasks and only working on those items during that time frame. You are essentially adding all your tasks to your calendar with actual appointments attached to them. These time frames can be set on various scales, from hourly for managing what you want to accomplish within a day, to weekly or monthly for longer timeline projects.

This system is one that worked really well for me in the workplace, but has never been too successful for me on a personal project level. When I’m trying to self-motivate, missing a time-slot I had scheduled to complete something will often derail me for the rest of the day. It ties in to over planning and setting yourself up for failure rather than success. It’s why the Pomodoro Technique works better for me, as it’s more about starting and not stopping than meeting a deadline.

Planning is still important!

Now, while I’ve mentioned several times in this post about how planning can sometimes be a roadblock in actually getting things done, I do want to be clear that I still find it one of my most important tools for doing as well. Without the process of organizing my thoughts, I wouldn’t have a jumping point for getting the things I want to do done. The important thing is to plan effectively and not overdo it. If detailed timelines don’t help, get rid of them. If giant task lists overwhelm, combine like tasks into larger, overarching ones. Keep working at it until your system works for you, but don’t work on it so much that you never get anything done!

Ultimately, there are so many techniques and tools to help you be successful, but it has to come from you first and foremost. I’m still struggling to get over my perfectionism keeping me from doing things, and my internalized shame for not doing them. I’m readjusting my methods to help me produce rather than plan and to reset my goals rather than always setting them too far out of my realistic reach.

Have you struggled with over-planning and underachieving? Do you have a method that helps you get things done? Let me know in the comments!

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13 Comments

  1. I am guilty of the perfectionism thing – it will be a lifelong struggle to handle it.

    The way I organize things is weekly, mostly. I use Trello, which is a kanban method. I collect all the tasks and projects I know I have to attend to (professional and personal) for the week, take them out of my mind and put them in the system. It’s definitely a GTD practice. With a kanban system, I can more things around easily to accommodate the unplanned ups and downs that come with each week. Trello’s free version is also quite robust.

    I also “eat the frog” as often as I can – do the most challenging/hardest/most uncomfortable thing first in the morning. I will sometimes block off specific chunks of time, but mostly that is counterproductive for me.

    Finally, getting up early also reduces stress and allows me to be more flexible with time. I’m a convert!

    1. Lifelong struggle indeed! I am going to have to try out your kanban system. I’ve used kanban systems in a work setting, and mostly to set teams up for success, but I’ve not thought to apply that to my own workflow. I did try using Trello in the past, but I wasn’t a big fan. My fiance loves to use it, though, so maybe I’ll have to give it another chance. Thanks for all the info, I need to get back to waking up earlier too!

  2. I’m totally guilty of spending more time planning than actually executing. I’m curious about that Pomodoro method and definitely going to give it a shot. I get distracted so easily. I need to find a disciplined way to focus on one task, with a set time limit.

    1. Distractions can be killer. Just yesterday I was trying to look up how to do something on youtube, and ended up down a rabbit hole. 36 minutes later I realized what I was doing and got back on task -_- not what I had planned! What can also help, in conjunction with Pomodoro, is keeping a list of things you think of doing while you are focusing on a timed task but aren’t part of that task, so you can go back to them after without forgetting.

  3. I can definitely relate to the overplanning and underachieving. Sometimes larger project just seem so daunting it can be hard to get started. But I like the idea you had of setting aside a small portion of time to solely focus on that task and then take a break. Great ideas!

    1. Getting started is the most difficult part of most tasks for me, so telling myself I only have to do something for 15 minutes usually results in me being interested and continuing with the task after that time. It’s great if you really struggle to get started.

  4. This is so helpful! I have been struggling a lot lately focusing my time on blogging, wedding planning, work, and my personal life – being able to prioritize it all is sometimes difficult! I am definitely going to try the Pomodoro Technique. Thanks for the helpful insight!

    1. My brain is being pulled between those things too!! I’ve always got a list of places to call for my wedding planning, and I hate talking on the phone. Setting a timer and telling myself I just have to get through as many on the list as I can in that time has been easier for me than avoiding it all together.

  5. Wow Im really happy to see this blog post! I always focus on looking at people’s bullet journals and planners and it seems everyone is so productive while I struggle getting things done. It’s refreshing to see I’m not alone. I usually do a mix of timeboxing and pomodoro (although I don”t have a tool). In the morning I set up time frames for different types of activities. Some I leave without a specific time and will do them if I can and feel like it. For the actual tasks I have been trying to work on goals and time together. So for studying I’ll put my self a goal to get through 10 practice questions, for example, which will take up to 30 minutes, and so on.

    Thank you for the post ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you! As with anything you find on the internet, the bullet journal community is great for inspiration but not for comparison! Everyone is going to post their best self, and it just isn’t the whole truth. I am far from a perfect bullet journaler, and I am all too happy to share that!

      Sounds like you have a pretty good system in place. I really like how your break your task up into bite-size pieces and aim for quantity over amount of time. I wish I had taken more of that approach when I was studying.

  6. Loved your post! I’m always struggling with actually getting things done, and usually use the Pomodoro technique to do so but I have to admit it’s not always working that well ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Yeah, the hardest thing with Pomodoro is actually getting started for me. Once I’ve got my timer on, I can usually power through, but sometimes it’s not so easy to keep on target!