Occasionally, we all tend to procrastinate our daily tasks even when we really enjoy what we’re doing. It’s just part of our human nature. However, if you’ve found yourself putting off too many important tasks over and over again, this may definitely have a negative impact on you and your professional relationships in the long-term, so be very careful and try to do your best to overcome this annoying problem.
Simon Cade from DSLRguide puts things into perspective by providing some useful ideas on how we can deal with this tremendously disruptive issue, especially when it comes to doing creative work in the editing bay on a daily basis. Keeping yourself busy, productive and efficient isn’t easy, but it’s still achievable when you are following a few simple rules.
In the first place, try to start with the easiest and smallest tasks, while completely ignoring the boring and the most tedious parts of your daily workflow. This approach will help you not only to tick off more daily tasks but also will give you a sense of achievement to carry you through to the tougher work.
Keep in mind, though, that no matter where you start you need some sort of deadline or a schedule to complete successfully everything you’ve planned. It’s also important to evaluate exactly how much work you are able to do in a single day. Don’t put too much pressure and too many tasks on your to-do list, unless you want to burn out quickly and left most of the job unfinished.
Long story short, try and be very realistic and don’t overburden yourself with too many assignments and responsibilities under your belt.
Log out from all social media accounts! Believe me, even though you might have an idea how much time you spend on social media, you still might get really surprised if you calculate the actual time you spend while scrolling down your Facebook timeline or Twitter feed. Give yourself a 10-minute break after every hour of quality work. Just leave the room, walk around a bit and then come back to finish off what you’ve started.
If you still can’t get enough motivation to continue working maybe it’s a good idea to talk with a collaborator or a colleague. Eventually, this will bring back some of your enthusiasm and make you feel more inspired about your current project so that it will be easier for you to continue with the daily tasks. Collaborating with someone in person is even better, so don’t underestimate the one-to-one communication, but if you don’t have this option even a short Skype chat would do the job.
Ultimately, sometimes even if you are working on the best and most interesting project you still may experience difficulties to stay focused down the road, but it’s normal and it’s just part of the game. Just try to concentrate, start with the simplest tasks for the day and move one further with the tougher ones.
Or, do the opposite if that works better for you. With time, you will improve not only your skill set, but you also will be able to get more work done no matter of the complexity of the creative project you’re working on.
[source: DSLRguide]
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate partner and participant in B&H and Adorama Affiliate programmes, we earn a small comission from each purchase made through the affiliate links listed above at no additional cost to you.
Claim your copy of DAVINCI RESOLVE - SIMPLIFIED COURSE with 50% off! Get Instant Access!
I start each editing day in the early morning, often getting in at 5:AM and in the chair by 5:30 which gives me a three of four hour head start before the distractions of the day begin. In the afternoon I’ll take a 45 minute break to have a siesta or watch TV, and then go to about 6:PM. This gives me a regular routine as well as some evening time with my loved ones. For the last two months this has worked very well for me.
Thanks for sharing your workflow with the community, Cynthia!