Ah, time management. It’s chock full of decisions that require our executive functions to function: planning, sequencing, organization, prioritization, estimating how long tasks take, and emotional regulation. We do a lot of thinking about doing that I describe as our Inner Efficiency Expert kicking in. It’s as though we are always doing math in an attempt to decide what to do and in what order. Here’s how it goes: Should I go to Trader Joe’s in the morning when traffic isn’t as bad and parking is easier so as to save time, or should I do cognitively challenging work, eg work that requires thinking or maintaining focus, in the morning when my brain still works, and go to Trader Joe’s in the afternoon? Then we don’t act because we want to make the best use of our limited time and energy but get paralyzed and stuck by the indecision & perfectionism. Math. Over and over again. The Inner Efficiency Expert strikes again.

What to do? You know you best, but I will always recommend prioritizing the harder thing first. Ask yourself, which is worst/ causes anxiety /is the hardest/ feels easier to avoid and do that one first. It’s the idea from the book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy which says always eat a frog (do the hardest thing) at the top of your day. Also, don’t spend a lot of time looking at that frog trying to decide whether to eat the left rear leg first or the right front. Just start eating.

Bon Appetite!

The Procrastination Doctor