Do you REALLY want to get more done each day? Even just from time to time? Here is a secret for you that you may not really grasp. We all truly work at different paces, and even a slight difference can make it feel like everything is going to take longer than you want, so you give up, or keep pushing it off.

But there is a trick, a simple trick, to get into your groove, to get the task to move. Start simple, don’t make a Do List, rather, just write down in (or on) a notepad what you “did”. At the start of the day, just write down the date/day, and log what ever you feel was worthy as being described as “Something I accomplished.”

It might be something you were forced to do, like attend a meeting. It might be something you just take for granted, like replying to friends in the course of the day. But what ever it is, if you think it is worth summing up and logging, then that is your definition of a “task.”

Quickly, even after a few days, you will see a pattern emerge. A “number” of items you do per day. Some people do 1 thing, some people 10, some … 30 (baby steps). My average is 8, my high is around 16. In other words, I tend to take an hour to do almost anything.

As a result of seeing your own pattern (your cadence) you improve your “own” expectations. You learn, and then know what to expect of your own productivity. As you move from logging the past, to predicting the future, you will describe tasks in chunks that you know are more realistic to accomplish. as opposed to “clean room” you might find you feel better just checking off “change sheets” and “vacuum floor”.

Scaling your tasks so that you always succeed is the largest step towards overcoming a pattern of procrastination. Welcome to adult hood, the only person giving you a gold star, is you. Ok, I’m giving you a gold star for taking the time to read this, now go put it to good use.