Tip # 7       What kind of information do you need in a hurry?

We spend half our lives on the phone.  We spend an equally big chunk of time looking for phone numbers and names.  The directory is cumbersome.  Putting them on your outlook means you have to re-boot your computer. 

Here’s a neat trick:  tear out sheets from your notepad and label each as kitchen, bedroom and living room. 

Kitchen sheet:  jot down the following telephone numbers:

• supermarket
• butcher’s
• pastry shop
• utensil stores
• take out pizza and other delivery shops
• drug store
• Oriental grocery 
  

Bedroom sheet: 

• dry cleaner’s
• doctors and dentists
• walk-in clinic
• shoe repair shop
• alteration shop
• department store
• Catalog order stores, etc. 

Living room sheet: 

• professional house cleaners
• plant shop
• local home centre
• florist
•  bookstore
• eyeglasses
• airport

Or if you prefer to use your cell phone, use its memory feature.

Tip # 8      Filtering the essential from the petty

Procrastination is the opposite of action.  When you decide which of your tasks need immediate attention and those that can be done later in the week, you’ve just learned the fine art of prioritizing.  So decide – once and for all – which should be assigned top priority, and then act.

Tip # 9      Better in black and white than dreaming in technicolor

That’s just our way of saying that when you read things on paper, you’re able to act logically; this is much more effective than just thinking out how to avoid procrastination. 

Putting down things in black and white is even better than brainstorming with another person.  Here’s the reason:  if you write down what needs to be done, you’re the only one who knows what’s urgent and important. 

You focus on this task from the implementation to completion.  Once it’s completed, you take it off your list.  There’s that sense of accomplishment, no matter how small the accomplishment is. 

You go on to the next task, until you actually get used to the idea of doing, rather than procrastinating.

Brainstorming with a friend, on the other hand, can be viewed as a positive, but can be a form of procrastination.  You’ll say to yourself, “what she said makes sense”, so you mull over it, leaving the task undone. 

Thinking about your tasks yourself and then doing them – without anyone’s feedback – is much more productive.