alrighty then... i need a kick up the butt

My workflow goes something like this...

Upload photos
Check emails
start editing, culling out duds in lightroom
get sidetracked...go check OSP...
cull 10 more pics
oh...lets check facebook!
cull 5 more photos
whats happening on x's blog this week??
Cull 2 more photos
Check email again
write LONG email to client
cull 1 more photo
check OSP again just in case i missed something
.........................

etc etc etc

whats your best tip on being focused and on-task and staying MOTIVATED to bloody do your job!

Unplug internet until done editing.

Music works for me. Usually if I have something playing in the background I stay on track. If I don't I'm all over the place like you.

In Jr. High we had to memorize a couple silly little poems/sayings in my History class. I don't know why Mr Evertt had us memorize them, but he tested us on them regularly. One of the poems was:Procrastination is a crimeit only leads to sorrowI can stop it anytimeI think I will tomorrow.There is no reason why I should be the only one on OSP tortured with this little ditty, so I thought I would share. In Jr. High we had to memorize a couple silly little poems/sayings in my History class. I don't know why Mr Evertt had us memorize them, but he tested us on them regularly. One of the poems was:Procrastination is a crimeit only leads to sorrowI can stop it anytimeI think I will tomorrow.There is no reason why I should be the only one on OSP tortured with this little ditty, so I thought I would share.

I am in the same boat. I get distracted and side track a lot. Not good at all.

These are the thing I am trying to do to help me.

I have found out that if I use the GTD system of having a task list for the day it help me see what I am doing and where I am going.

Separate an hour a day to do your internet "fun" stop. I divided in two sessions. one AM and one PM. In the morning I check all my emails as well as all as any other site I regularly go for inspiration and food for though. Same thing at night. or either time.

Most of all, it requires your determination not to get side track.

I get into an overwhelmed state of apathy where the net sucks me in constantly.

I recently had to (no joke) have my husband block (which wasn't easy to do, interestingly enough) one of my time suck forums. It's been painful but helping me. I do allow myself to sneak on via another computer at night once all my work is done.

However, I didn't block OSP. This is for work afterall.....right? ; )

I dowloaded a plug-in for Thunderbird (an email app) that has a calendar and task manager.

You create a schedule, set alarms to your tasks and it will have them go off when you've set them to. Basically a pop-up window shows up on whatever you're doing and will remind you how much time you have left.

It gets pretty annoying - so if you're like me (easily distracted when working) this is a huge help because it keeps popping up until you've done the job (or told it you did the job - so you have to be honest too).

On top of the task master thing - I have set days for set tasks:
Monday - I don't even look at images from the weekend. I am usually too tired to do so. So I spend time on forums, reading/writing emails, calling clients etc. Basically I ease into my week on Mondays.

Tuesday - I still won't look at images from the weekend. I hate them at this point. So I spend time working on some biz ideas, promos, client relationships etc.

Wednesday - I bust out images on this day. I avoid the web, emails and phone calls. Crank the tunes and get some major work done.

Thursday - I bust out images on this day as well. I avoid the web (as much as possible), but I will handle emails and phone calls. I still crank the tunes and try to get as much done on this day as possible.

Friday - Clean up day. This is the day I try to wrap up the week.
I get images online, emails sent to clients, orders placed, and if I have a wedding on Saturday, I prepare for it and cut out early so I can go to dinner with my family.

I usually shoot sessions every other week (at the most) and it is never more than 2 session in a week... no more than 1 session on a day.
The same goes with client meetings. I keep my booking level low so I am not too stretched for time. Even so, I still put in at least 50 hours per week, not including the weekends where I have either a session or wedding.

Also, I could probably get an entire wedding edited in a day (like many) but I am very picky and take my time on every image. This isn't the fastest work flow, but it gives my work MY look. It takes me a week to get a complete wedding edited and online (it is actually two weeks from the clients pov).

100% sounds like me. I drive my husband crazy. I'll realize like 2 hours ago I started an email or got a client file out to call them and still haven't finished it. I also have like a dozen windows open at once on my computer and constantly go back and forth and get sidetracked. Lately I have been trying to work at home on the laptop cause I have no wireless internet there, but the office kills me. Phone calls, emails, walk-ins, and all the sudden it's 6:00 and I haven't gotten a thing done.

I've actually turned my schedule upside down because of this. I'll end up working here or at home until midnight or later because that is when the phone stops ringing and emails stop coming in and I don't get so distracted.

I am the queen of procrastination. I so feel your pain.

It's almost as if you put a security cam in my office!

I meant to read this thread earlier but didn't...I'll reply later.

I was thinking the same thing. CAUGHT!

Ok, I'm outta here.

I wish there was some good drama going on in the clients or check yo self topics so I could procrastinate with less effort on my part.
Siiiigh...

so I'm not the only one.

I really think part of it stems from the fact that most of us are very isolated during the days that we are working/editing. I know I thrive on contact, and it's hard to work alone so much...

I haven't found a good answer to this yet though.

I'm not going to claim to NOT procrastinate, because I'm the same way, but the only thing that works is self-control.

I try to only check my mail 1-2 times a day. 3 times MAX! I used to check it like every 30 minutes. But take baby steps

And when I'm editing, I set goals. Like "after this amount of photos, I can go check OSP for 10 minutes".

I usually set a time limit to get something done. For instance, if I'm editing a portrait session, I'll schedule time for it between 2-4 pm. I know by 4 pm, I should be done editing, exporting, creating the slideshow and sending the link to my client. That way, I've given myself a goal to get it done.

If I think I have forever to get something done, I'll take forever If I know I have 30 minutes, it'll take me 30 minutes.

I do the same thing, but I am such a crazy multi tasker. Right now I have two firefox windows open (generally they both have multiple tabs), notepad, word, winamp, photoshop, lightroom, google chat w/ my hubby, remote desktop for my other job, and excel (for the other job) ... If I find that I am dilly dallying too much to actually BE productive, then I say "okay do this many images, then go refresh a forum... " or whatever.. "spend 30 mins on other job, then go play with photos" or something. I set mini-goals for myself if I am not dedicated enough on my own. But, generally I can get it all done fairly quickly!

I have the attention span of a gnat.. I swear.

lol this is what I have to do, because I am probably the worst procrastinator in the world!

Two things made a radical improvement for me.
(1) a time log - get used to WRITING down what you do in 15 minute increments. Look back over it at the end of the day, and again the next day.
(2) being accountable to someone else in the office by leaving the time log for all to see, sharing my "to do list" with others, and going back over accomplishments regularly.

Mark

Ugh. me too. I am driving *myself* crazy at this point.
Mark, time log sounds like a plan

I meant to finish reading this back on the 16th.....

i have been meaning to read this post... but i kept putting it off....

I was so going to say that.

We might be friends in real life.

I would be getting more done if I wasn't reading this thread on procrastination.. Haha.

This is EXACTLY what I was going to say! Work in a space that does not allow for distractions.

I take ritalin...

But I'm not sure that's legal for everyone


So yeah, as others mentioned, unplug the internet, or tell yourself that you absolutely cannot go on the internet until you are done... and then reward yourself with the internet and chocolate or something:)

Another thing that helps is to only answer emails 2-3 SET TIMES each day. Sometimes a person's emergency is not your emergency... whatever it is can usually wait for a few hours. Even if you respond within 24 hours, sometimes that's ok. So, close your email window, and only check it a couple times a day-- at least until you are done with what you need to be doing.

And as far as OSP goes... Set aside a set time for that too-- AFTER you get things done!

Australians have this saying, "Eat a frog for breakfast."
Meaning, get the stuff done that you hate to do right in the AM, so the rest of the day is easier. For me, if I have a wedding to edit, I edit all of the images in Lightroom first, and then go back and choose the handful of images I'm going to edit artistically--I used to do those FIRST, but then I would put off doin the rest of the wedding cause I hated the boring basic editing!

I make a list of 5 things I need to do each day (before I go to bed). That next day, I have to get 4 of 5 things done. Whatever I didn't get done is the first thing I have to do in the AM the following day.

I think some people have touched on the idea, but utilizing a schedule can be a HUGE help in better managing everything you have to do.

Benefits of a schedule:

1. Keeps you from spending extensive amounts of time working on one area of your biz and getting burnt out.

2. Keeps you from spending extensive amounts of time working on one area of your biz and letting other part get behind.

3. Allows you to actually schedule time for yourself to do things you truly enjoy or that allow you to get away from it all (daily workout, bike ride, etc).

Creating 5 or 10 minute breaks every hour to actually get up and away from the computer is a great idea too! You can use an app like this to help.

oh this just nails my thoughts for the last few days!! Between blogs, boards, album design, updating the website and doing other things around the house, it's hard to stay focused on the work! I did an experiment a few days back and found that leaving my house and doing some catch up outside my home environment like a coffee house etc, really helped me keep my mind off other things like "is that pot of coffee still going"...."did I throw that load of laundry in the dryer"...."what's happening on OSP?"...
Procrastination is like a fine balance act! lol

I find that if I go to Starbucks, or someplace like that that I don't get distracted and stay on task (you obviously have to have a laptop to be able to achieve this

Jon