How do you cope with procrastination/apathy towards work?

[ankietyjoe]

The question is in the title really!

I'm self employed and work from home as a sound designer, I also create video content for online schools.

One of the major issues is that sometimes I will feel crappy and not work for a week or two, and then have to try and put a lot of work into a short space of time. The issue being.....I can't be bothered!

I know the obvious answer is 'just sort yourself out and get on with it', but it's incredibly hard some days.

What I do isn't complicated, but requires planning and a certain about of creativity. Some days I just don't feel like I have it in me, but I still need to get things done.

It does sound a bit like a first world problem, but it's a real problem for me.

[snowghost57]

Why not schedule your work day? That's what I do when I'm working. I know I wouldn't feel as motivated if I worked from home. To easy to goof off. Maybe setting deadlines like you would in an office would help?

[ankietyjoe]

Hmmm, seems like one of those things that's too simple to try, but I'll give it a shot.

I did actually toy with the idea before, but with two young kids a schedule tends to be put behind school runs and vomit accidents, but I will think hard about the times where I can guarantee work time.


Thanks.

[Mindprison]

Agree with making a schedule, I also used to remind myself that it's better to do a bit every day rather than try and cram it all at the end because it was causing me anxiety issues. We all have days where the creative juices just aren't flowing but I think scheduling is a good place to start!

[ankietyjoe]

Ok I'll definitely do that.

I'd also be interested in other techniques of dealing with the apathy directly. Tackling the cause rather than the symptoms (so to speak).

I will happily tackle both though!

[Darren1]

Being motivated to work is something I also struggle with. Sometimes I leave things to the very last minute and I only get the motivation from the stress of having little time.

I'm very good at getting a lot done in a short amount of time!

One thing I find helps is to start the day doing the tasks I don't mind doing, then once I get going I will do the horrible stuff I've been putting off

[ankietyjoe]

Being motivated to work is something I also struggle with. Sometimes I leave things to the very last minute and I only get the motivation from the stress of having little time.

I'm very good at getting a lot done in a short amount of time!

One thing I find helps is to start the day doing the tasks I don't mind doing, then once I get going I will do the horrible stuff I've been putting off

Yeah I tend to leave things until the last minute too. The problem with that is that I always manage to get it done, further reinforcing the idea that I can leave it until the last moment!

Interesting idea starting with the things I don't mind so much, I'll give that a whirl.

Thanks!

[Goldfinch]

I'm also self-employed and I tend to struggle with this a bit as well. A lot of my anxiety centres around work (will I get enough to make ends meet? will I take on too much and mess up?) and I think this is why it's sometimes hard to focus on something so important. I find it helps to allocate a certain number of hours per day and make sure I work for those hours, then try to switch off and do something completely different. I also aim to take at least a five-minute break every hour (even if it's for something wildly exciting like hanging the washing out). At the moment I'm trying to increase my hours a bit so as to have a bit less month left at the end of the money. Every time I work more than my allocated time, I put £1 in a jar to save for a treat. Sounds like kids' stuff but I find it surprisingly effective!

[ankietyjoe]

I'm also self-employed and I tend to struggle with this a bit as well. A lot of my anxiety centres around work (will I get enough to make ends meet? will I take on too much and mess up?) and I think this is why it's sometimes hard to focus on something so important. I find it helps to allocate a certain number of hours per day and make sure I work for those hours, then try to switch off and do something completely different. I also aim to take at least a five-minute break every hour (even if it's for something wildly exciting like hanging the washing out). At the moment I'm trying to increase my hours a bit so as to have a bit less month left at the end of the money. Every time I work more than my allocated time, I put £1 in a jar to save for a treat. Sounds like kids' stuff but I find it surprisingly effective!

Those are useful tips. You say it sounds like kids stuff, but it a way anxiety is a 'kids' emotion. I don't mean that people who suffer with anxiety are babies, just that you're dealing with irrational and fearful emotions a lot of the time.

I actually speak to my anxiety response like a child sometimes, calming it, telling it things are fine etc.

Oh, and I put it in the depression section because I relate apathy more towards depression than anxiety, but they're so closely linked!

Tip jar.....good idea!

[I Don't Get it!]

OP, I feel exactly the same. I'll be watching your thread with great interest.

I'd love to know if the schedule idea works. It was advised in a self-help book I read, but I found my brain going blank at the thought of having to draw one up. When I'm down I find it near impossible to make choices or decisions and when I'm OK I don't think I need a timetable! doh.