Mandy set me up with a subscription to Entrepreneur magazine. I received my second issue a couple of days ago. I finally got a chance to read it Sunday morning. There was a specific article that really resonated with me; TickTick Boom!
Time urgency is the constant clock checking, stressed-out, intense feeling of deadline panic. It is a pressure that we put on ourselves and is derived from our own self-induced, unrealistic estimations of what will make us successful.
I suffer from this, sometimes debilitating, ailment. I look at my to-do list and immediately begin to panic. My throat gets tight, my patience withers to non-existent, and I immediately want to give up or throw up or both. I have gone and done it again. I have over promised and now I will proceed to show myself as a sham. And, somehow, I know that I am forgetting something.
The article likens time urgency to intoxication. It hinders the ability to make rational decisions based on sound judgment. Because everything is an emergency, nothing get accomplished; and poor business practices become the norm, as projects are rushed through and mistakes are made.
It is at this point, the article recommends, you should do the last thing you want to do; step away from the task list. Take a few deep breaths; get rid of the clock; realistically prioritize the list and begin again. This time, pick a task and involve yourself completely in that one task. Worrying about the other dozen things will only muddy the creative waters and make you ineffective.
Though stopping the headless-chicken dance is difficult, I have found a great sense of accomplishment in going, step by step, through my lists. I have been surprised how much I can accomplish when my eyes are on the task at hand and not on the clock.
Good reason to pick up my own copy of Entrepreneur and read that article!
ReplyDelete