I realised recently that the way I imagine tasks dictates my productivity.
If I have a clear picture of doing it, it’s easier- by that I mean, if I close my eyes and can imagine where in the room I’ll be, how I’ll start, how long it’ll probably take and what it will be like when it ends.
I realised this because I had a bit of voice over work to do recently and I examined in myself why I kept putting it off. It was because all of the above variables were abstract. I didn’t know what set up I’d be using. I hadn’t made choices with the text yet. I had no real sense of how long it would take.
The future can often be abstract in this way- we don’t always know what something will be like. So when tasks share this characteristic for me, they get shuffled into the future ongoingly (i.e procrastination)
I ended up just going ahead and doing the best job I could right then and there. It was interesting- it felt a little uncomfortable- but I got it done.
So my take away is to either:
- Make all of the unknowns known; imagine and picture them.
- Just go ahead and do it in the unknown
