Procrastination is Killer Everytime

Has the following scenario ever happened to you before?  Monday morning arrives and you head to work with a plate full of things to do.  You sit down at your desk and begin to tackle the gigantic to-do list that lies before you.  You start strong but then get interrupted by a co-worker stopping by to chat for a few minutes.  Suddenly, a few minutes turns into thirty. After the casual conversation subsides you begin to tackle the project that you started earlier.  That lasts for a few moments until your phone goes off informing you of a message that you just received.  Of course you have to check the message just in case it is important.  Before long, you blink and it's lunch.  After taking a prolonged lunch break that you have justified in your mind, you return to work with the full intent to get something done.  Through a series of unplanned interruptions it is time to head home.  As you are driving home you assess your day and realize that you accomplished very little and yet managed to stay busy the entire day.  It's okay though, because you always have tomorrow.  Unfortunately, by the end of the week you still hadn't accomplished as much as you would have liked to.

Welcome to my life story for the first several years of ministry.  I was the king of staying busy but accomplishing very little.  Procrastination was something that I thought I left behind in college, but realized that I took with me into the work force.  The funny thing about procrastination is that it always comes back to bite you in the rear.  You never really put out a product that you are truly happy with because "you didn't have enough time to finish it."  I was half-way doing ministry, and getting upset when things didn't work out how I pictured them in my head. 

If this describes you, may I make three suggestions that helped me attack procrastination head on.  This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a great place to start.

1. Make a weekly agenda.   There are certain things in your job that must be done on a weekly basis.  Make an agenda and write those repetitious events in INK on your calendar.  This does not have to be an exhaustive list, but it does need to include such things as: study time for lessons; staff meetings; church service prep; etc. 
2. Make a daily agenda.  Every morning when you get to work, sit down with your calendar and come up with a detailed list of everything that you must accomplish before that day has ended.  After you complete an item, check it off in order to give yourself the satisfaction of actually completing something.  It's very satisfying to look down at your list at the end of the day and see everything checked off.
3. Be held accountable by others.  Let your supervisor, assistant, or even spouse know what you're wanting to accomplish and allow them to call you on the carpet if you don't follow through.  There is great motivation in knowing that someone is going to ask you what all you got done at the end of the day/week.