Get Everything Done

Not the naked kind!...Sometimes I use this method with tasks I don't like, or think I don't like, to persuade me to do them on a daily basis, such as washing dishes, running, hoovering, etc. Like some of Mark's time management exercises, it is a way of building up momentum against the resistance. After you have completed a certain task daily, say emptying your email inbox for 10 days in a row, you will find you will do anything not to miss the 11th day.

It is similar to when someone has a running streak, they try to go for a run every day, you record how many days in a row you have gone for a run, the more consistent you have been, the more you want to keep the streak going. I apply this to other tasks I have to do to stop procrastination. For example, if I want to do some academic reading every day, I will note down how many days in a row I complete the task, if I have completed it five days in a row, I am more likely to complete it on the 6th day, simply because I want to keep the streak going. If I stop the streak then I can start it again and try to beat the last streak. Hope that makes more sense!