When Little Tasks Become Crises

Background

When thinking about accomplishing everyday tasks, theoretically, it may seem easy… deal with laundry, pick up the toys, or complete paperwork. But somehow these tasks just don’t get done. The situation becomes a crisis, and only then is there action. If you have had enough of this cycle, read on.

It's a Four Step Process

1. Define the task
2. Time the task
3. Schedule the task
4. Do the task

STEP ONE: DEFINE THE TASK

It is helpful to understand the task. What exactly are we talking about? Here are some examples of defined tasks:
•Deal with laundry - Put away all folded laundry and hanging clothing.
•Pick up toys – Put toys that are on floor, couch, and table in their appropriate bins.
•Complete paperwork – Put all papers related to a project into a folder then file.

STEP TWO: TIME THE TASK

It is helpful to understand how long it actually takes to do the specific task. In some cases we may not leave enough time to do the task. In other cases we may feel like the task is going to take forever, so we just don’t do it.
•Test yourself. Set a timer to see how long it actually takes you to do the specific task. You may be surprised.

STEP THREE: SCHEDULE THE TASK

Now that we know how long the task is going to take we can schedule time appropriately. This might mean a variety of things:
• Talking to a family member so you have an uninterrupted 20 minute block to put away the clothes.
• Setting an alarm for 10 minutes before bedtime so all the toys can be put in their bins.
•Clearing the last 15 minutes of a work day to collect papers and file.

STEP FOUR: DO THE TASK

You may feel tired and think that you’ll just let it go this once. Remind yourself of how long the task actually takes and the crisis you want to avert.

Final note

It is helpful to break up larger projects into smaller tasks. So in the laundry example we just looked at the putting away task in this project. You can go through these steps for all the other tasks that make up a larger project.

Good Luck,
Susan

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