This Is So Me

From an e-mail to myself, recently discovered in the depths of my inbox:

Fri, Apr 15, 2005 at 4:54 PM

Have you been robbed by the three thieves of productivity – distraction, perfectionism and procrastination? If you are task and achievement oriented, you’ve struggled to keep these villains out of your life.

Here are some quick tips to help improve productivity.

  • Spend a few moments when you get to work getting organized and creating a to-do list to reduce the risk of distraction.
  • Is perfection getting in the way? That speech, project, or report is probably ready to go now. So let it fly.
  • Always waiting for tomorrow? Learn how to produce a sense of urgency to ward off procrastination so you can act and avoid delays. Do it by focusing on the consequences of not completing a task and the rewards of getting it done.

There’s no citation, so I’m guessing I got it from the company intranet. I can only find it in one place online.

It’s so true, though, on all three counts. It’s an ongoing self-improvement struggle for me to combat my procrastinatory tendencies. It’s been an issue since I was a kid. Some things never change, I guess… but that doesn’t stop me from trying.