Kick procrastination's ass: Run a dash

Merlin Mann at 43 Folders Writes:

"Procrastination can drive most of us into a spiral of shame that’s as mundane as it is painfully personal. We know what we should be doing, but some invisible hang-up keeps us on the line. Unfortunately, the guaranteed consequence of procrastination is growth in the scale of the task you’ve been putting off—as well as the anxiety that it creates. All the time you’re putting something off, your problem’s getting bigger—both in reality and in your head, where your colorful imagination is liable to turn even the most trivial item into an unsolvable juggernaut that threatens to overwhelm you. And that means extra stress, more procrastination, and the music goes round.

My favorite tonic for procrastination—which I have mentioned in passing previously—is what I call a dash, which is simply a short burst of focused activity during which you force yourself to do nothing but work on the procrastinated item for a very short period of time—perhaps as little as just one minute. By breaking a few tiny pebbles off of your perceived monolith, you end up psyching yourself out of your stupor, as well as making much-needed progress on your overdue project. Neat, huh?"

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Nice idea. I find that journal keeping and a small time make this better. One recent use is in painting; I pull out a small sheet of scratch paper and do about a two or three inch square section of the painting. Sometimes I only use graphite or colored pencils. The big thing is focusing on only one part and and "breaking off a few tiny pebbles." It helps me with the rest! Try it.

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