How To Create a Timetable and Get Rid of Procrastination

Perhaps you’re familiar with the overused phrases, “I have plenty of time.” or “I can do it tomorrow.” As I’m chronos- challenged, I often believe I have that invisible superman power to be able to do all my to-do lists in one single sweep. Five humongous tasks in one hour? No problem.

Not really.

This has unfortunately lead me to rushing my personal tasks year after year. The ubiquitous last minute syndrome. Packing for China an hour before heading to the airport. Packing my belongings into boxes and move to a new apartment two days before rushing to catch my plane to Australia for a 2 month backpacking trip. Thinking I could get a job in another country two weeks before my contract runs out. No wonder I couldn’t accomplish my yearly goals for four years.

This year I decided to change that.

One trick I learned from my teaching field and organizing conferences is the use of a timetable. In one semester, there is so much material to teach that you want to organize and stay on track so you could comply with your syllabus objectives and learning outcomes. See sample below.

WEEK	TOPIC(S)	ACTIVITY
1 6/02	Introductions, Course outline; Formal v Informal	Written paragraph for homework
2 13/02	Paraphrase & Parts of the book	Library Visit?
3 20/02	Paraphrasing Skimming & Annotating	Library Visit?

Likewise, in a conference you cannot afford to stay behind schedule with so many components (budget, accommodations, logistics, guest speakers, sponsors, etc) that a timetable calendar is a must to stay up to date and make sure you’re on top of your game. There is more at stake because you don’t want the event to fuck up- or you for the matter.

Now why can’t they do this for your personal development? We need a syllabus to our life (objectives- purpose) and a calendar with deadlines to make sure we’re on track. Like a conference, there is a lot at stake (our goals) and there will be a lot of changes along the way (flexible calendar needed) but in the end you can see where you’re at and soon will get to the finish line where champagne heaven awaits.  Below is a sample of my timetable with 80/20 prioritization.

WEEK	80%	20%
1 6/02	research Australia
2 13/02	publish 3 blog entries Sleep at 11pm 5x a week Notary- Macau & apply for new Phil. passport on Thursday? Create checklist for OZ requirements	Learn Spanish commands and questions and basic expressions
3 20/02 (slump week- downtime)	Contact schools for copies of Transcript of Records Fill in OZ education assessment application	Return Process Essay

I found using a timetable to be more effective than using David Allen’s GTD 90 Day-Monthly -Weekly system. It takes me less time and more importantly, I can see how much time I have left before my deadline. Also, how each step contributes to the next one tells me how important it is to do them on that week. This helps me stop procrastinating.

Here are the steps to create a timetable

1^st STEP: Break your yearly goals into projects. For example, one of my goals is to try to apply for a migration visa to Australia. The simple steps could be broken down to research, gathering paperwork and apply. More steps could be added as soon as you have gathered more information.

2^nd STEP: Make sure to be realistic and create a plan B and its steps for your goals. A timetable helps me create back-up plans. Should migrating to Australia fail, I’ll try to apply to Canada and New Zealand. If that does not work either, then I’ll try volunteering or study exchange programs. I like to create a Plan C, D, E, F to my Plan B and sometimes none of those happen and something completely surprising will be thrown at you. But you should always keep in mind that whatever plan you take it should be in line with your purpose in life. Mine is to travel, experience and inspire and be inspired by life.

3^rd STEP: Now that you have your steps and back-up plans in place, it’s time to fill in your calendar. You can use Google Calendar or create your own template in a word document. I aim for a 6 month plan which will leave plenty of flexibility for the other half of the year. Make sure to put deadlines to your goals and stick to them. Making the calendar at first would be a bit taxing but it would save you much time and stress in the end. It did for me.

With a timetable, you could also observe which weeks you’d be the most productive and schedule your most important tasks there. Likewise, you’d see which dates you’d likely be in a slump and pencil in some down time. Remember to carry your timetable with you wherever you go to be reminded of your tasks. Lastly, be flexible. There are many things that could happen in life but always make sure you keep the big picture in mind.

Happy Planning!

Photo from 2nd Green Revolution

How To Focus On What Makes You Happy And Get You Closer to Your Goals

I sat there finishing my application form when I noticed something. The first page was written with a different shade of black ink from the rest. I started worrying and then imagined this inane scenario that the person evaluating my application would throw it away exclaiming, “What a careless lady using two different shades of black ink! Can’t she see one’s darker than the other?”

Meanwhile the Chinese courier guy was impatiently waiting for me to put my papers into the envelope. He lifted his pinkie with its long shiny nail and proceeded to pick his nose.

I scrambled looking for the pen on my desk with the right shade of black ink.

Dial, dial, dial.

He flicked his finger. The booger landed on the envelope. It was like a play doh marble with the sheen and pallor of a 100 year old egg complete with mushy egg yolk stickiness.

A million things raced through my head. Moist towelletes. Rubbing alcohol. cotton swabs. Perfume for that smell.

Just mail that goddamned application!, the booger seemed to be screaming.

I’m sure you’re not as crazy anal as I am but we’ve been in situations where we make mountains out of mole hills. 80% of the value of that task was simply to mail my papers but I was spending most of my time searching for the right shade of ink that’s not even part of the 20% of the value of the task.

I used to follow this ABC method of prioritization.

A- important but not urgent

B- urgent but not important

C- not important nor urgent

It resulted to years about bitching and moaning that I spent most of my time marking papers and lesson plans and not doing the things that I enjoyed. The previous posts of this blog reflected that. It actually got to the point I got tired of listening to me. Hell, I’m not a complainer, honey. Snap!

But then I discovered the 80/20 rule- Pareto’s principle. 80% of the value comes from 20% of the tasks.  80% of the value of my teaching job comes from student evaluations and grade assessment which is 20% of what I do. The bulk of my time (80%) comes from creating supplementary materials and marking which contribute to 20% of the value. It means at the end of the day, my admin will only look at those score and evaluation sheets. Many PD (Personal Development) gurus espouse on the 80/20 rule like it’s the holy grail – Tim Ferriss, Brian Tracy, Steve Pavlina – because it forces you to look at the few critical few, the Big Picture and get rid of the useless stuff. It is a lifestyle changer.

So like Tim Ferriss in his book The Four Hour Work Week, I decided to 80/20 my life.

80% of what I’m doing that yields only 20% output of getting me closer to my goals:

1. marking
2. creating lesson plans and materials

20% of what I’m doing that give me 80% happiness and output to my goals:

1. writing
2. preparing my application to perhaps migrate to New Zealand
3. wake up at 7am

So I reversed it and my new 80/20 weekly goals  look like this. I added a C column for those non-essential very low priority chores:

80%	20%	C
1. Post 3 blog entries this week	1. Mark paraphrasing papers	1. Pay rent
2. Notarize copies of my diploma	2. Mark summary papers	2. Organize papers in office
3. Plan 90 Day and Monthly		3. Organize class folder
4. Wake up at 7am 5x this week

But what if you get behind your day job because you give it less priority?  For me by focusing on the 80% first, I’m more motivated to doing the 20% later because I have that good flow that comes from what makes me happy first. You can also distribute your work plan in your week so you make sure you’re on top of your game. A Time Map can help you do that. I can’t tell you how much good vibes I have to doing what I love at the end of the week and knowing I’ve accomplished something meaningful.

Tip: If you get stuck on a task ask yourself, “Would this make a difference a year from now? 5 years?” If not, cross it out. I also set a timer for doing the 20% tasks so I don’t spend more time on it than necessary. However, you are also free to do the tasks you hate to do first. Brian Tracy once said to eat a live frog first thing in the morning just so you can get it out of the way. I tried that but procrastinated instead and ended up sprawled on the couch watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. Different people have different ways to be productive. Find what works for you but make sure to focus 80% on the 80%.

So back to that Chinese courier guy with decent etiquette. In the end, I gave my papers to him because I just couldn’t do it without making sure everything was perfect.  He slid the application package into envelope and sealed it. As he walked out the door, I saw the booger was still stuck on the envelope.

Oh well.

The Circle of Goals- A New Way of Writing Them

Mom’s New Year resolutions looked like this:

1. Don’t forget dentures every time you go out (I’m sorry, Mom. But you can’t get away with just your canines. Remember our neighbor, George? He stopped you in the street with a concerned look in his face and said, “Nisa, Halloween was over six months ago.”).
2. Find a better way to decline son’s year long request to buy a ‘haute couture’- what is haute couture?- yellow gown with matching feather boas and Giuseppe Zentodi Zoneti Zanotti shoes.
3. Lose weight for daughter’s upcoming wedding. You don’t want guests to think you’re pregnant when you walk down the aisle.
4. Buy wig for wedding and not listen to daughters’ comments that a wig just makes you look like a sorry assed drag queen. Avoid pink and green. Rihanna red-optional.

Does yours look the same (of course, minus the dentures and feather boas)? Every year we make the same list style of writing our goals. Have you ever considered doing something different like this?

This idea of writing my goals this way came to me out of the blue. Why not arrange our goals in a circular shape so we could see how they connect and synergize with each other? In this way, we can see the Big Picture, the whole forest not just the trees, the whole gown and not just the sequins and embroidery.

We’re used to seeing goals as separate entities. But actually, they can also be extensions of each other. Some goals need other goals to lay the foundations like the bottom blocks of Egyptian Jenga pyramids. For example, my main goal for this year is to be able to wake up at7AM consistently (goal #1) in order to do what’s important to me (goal#2) so I can lead a happy and fulfilling life (goal#3).

So grab a piece of paper or software and start sketching. Find the hidden bridges between those goals so you can cross them. Once you know how important one is to the other, you’ll be more motivated to pursue them. Meanwhile I have to skype Mom. Apparently, she’s lost those dentures again.