How to get stuff done

Why is it so hard to do stuff? I swear, when I worked four part-time jobs and took 18 credit hours and volunteered, somehow there were more red check marks on to-do lists and feelings of accomplishment that followed. Now that my whole day stretches out blankly in front of me, somehow the temptation to watch the Food Network for hours on end is way stronger than it ever was before. Maybe I thrive on the pressure and the deadlines. Which is why I've needed to learn to motivate myself, which is a lot harder said than done. But after a year of this, I've finally got a few tricks in my bag.

1. Write out a schedule. Especially procrastinators like me. If I don't plan when I'll work out or write, I'll inevitably push that stuff further and further back until suddenly--WHAT??? HOW IS IT MIDNIGHT?!?

2. Ask for help. You know those quiet, peaceful hours of the morning when nobody's up yet and it's just you, your coffee and the sunrise? Yeah, I hate those hours. However, I get more stuff done if I get up earlier. Knowing how hard this is for me, I've recruited Husband to cajole me by turning on the lights and promising me coffee. I ask friends to meet me at the gym or go to a coffee shop to study Arabic. Nothing wrong with accountability.

3. Make attainable to-do lists. I am queen of mile-long to-do lists. Like, I'll write "Plan Thanksgiving dinner" in early October. Really? Do I need to worry about that now? It's slightly more useful and a lot less discouraging when I only let five things onto the to-do list, which means I might actually accomplish some of them instead of feeling so overwhelmed that I never even get started.

4. Unplug the Internet. I think I have cyber-OCD. Like, if I'm online, I somehow feel the need to check my e-mail every five minutes and then read all the updates on Facebook. Whenever I get stuck on a project, my cursor just automatically drifts toward Firefox before I even know what I'm doing! And every time I do that, I lose like 15 minutes of work time because it takes that long to transition in and out of an activity like Working on my Book. Unless working actually requires me to be online, it is stupid not to unplug.

5. Multi-task like mad. Favorites: Memorizing Arabic verbs on the treadmill. Cleaning house while talking on the phone. Planning plot points as I pick up groceries.

6. Take a whole day off, every week. Which is great, because then I can plan to spend four hours re-reading the seventh Harry Potter book without feeling guilty about it.