As valuable as proper planning can be, there comes a point when planning becomes procrastination. We can easily occupy our time by perfecting our environment, telling ourselves that we can reach a greater level of efficiency if we just listen to that next podcast, read that next book, or take one more hour of rest. In more cases than not, we’re lying to ourselves.
Given the amount of time that we have, there is no reason that planning and doing can’t happen on the same day. The reasons we procrastinate – perfectionism, laziness, feigned apathy, etc. – may differ, but the result is the same: we don’t get any work done.
The goal, I think, should be to do our work automatically, without needing to make a decision. Not that thought doesn’t go into our work, but that starting and executing doesn’t take any decision on our part. Take the example of someone who goes to the gym every morning – they won’t always want to go, but they always go (barring exceptional circumstance) because going to the gym is simply something they do. It is a choice that has been made on a basis of its cumulative costs and benefits, and therefore is deserving of continued work and effort.
The same applies to other types of work. Once we have decided that a goal or objective is worthy of our pursuit, we should look to make it a part of our routine so that its start and end can be done without thought. This is where limiting distractions can become critically important. One strategy that I’ve heard and am trying to apply more to my life is to effectively give yourself two options: to work or to do nothing. By stripping away everything that could capture our attention (don’t worry, just temporarily) and giving ourselves the choice to do nothing or to do our work, we’ll eventually take on our work because, well, work is more engaging – at least one would hope.
At a certain point we have to draw the line and say enough is enough. Since it’s easy to say “right, let’s start it tomorrow”, how about we start today? Set an attainable goal for yourself, go to work, and build that practice towards automation.