Daily writing prompt: What have you been putting off doing? Why?
I used to be a world-class procrastinator. I put off doing things so much that my to-do list would grow to enormous, anxiety-provoking lengths. Eventually, I’d start something from the list. I’d set it aside when I ran into an impediment (or if it was hard or tedious). Then I’d start something else. That would go on until I had so many projects in progress that I couldn’t keep track of them all. Then I’d procrastinate some more.
I started to change my ways as a result of my work in software development, where I learned lean and agile practices. One of those practices is to limit “Work in Process,” abbreviated WIP. Unfinished work is a form of waste. One way to limit that form of waste is to only have a few things in progress at a time. Whether the focus is organization wide and applies to major initiatives or at the team level and applies to smaller goals, we focus on a very small set of things to work on. Focusing on a particular initiative, project, or feature means we finish it faster than if we dispersed our attention across multiple streams of work.
Since WIP limits helped in my professional life, I thought they’d work in my personal life as well. I made a list of all the work I had in process. There was a surprising number of uncompleted projects in the wood shop, the yard, the house, and in my writing. There were so many that I almost gave up before I went any farther.
I knew that wouldn’t help, and I turned a critical eye on the list. I made the hard decision to abandon some of the projects. That bar cart I’d been “going to get to?” It pained me to throw it out, but I knew I’d never get back to it and if I did, I was going to have to start over anyway. Being honest with myself and getting rid of things I was never going to do freed up space–in my life and in my head–for the ones I could do.
Next, I surveyed the remaining projects. I selected one that would be easy to finish yet would give me the biggest benefit. I ignored that other projects were waiting and worked until I finished it. Then I picked another and focused on that. Again and again. Just like a software development team delivers faster when it focuses on a single feature, I started finishing projects faster. When I got stuck on one, I refrained from switching to another. Instead, I focused on getting that project unstuck.
My list is much shorter now, and it doesn’t cause me anxiety even when it grows. I recognize that I can only do so much at a time. As long as I’m smart about selecting the most valuable things to do, that’s enough. It’s not that I’m putting things off. I’m focusing on doing what I can do so that I can do it well and finish.
