[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/save-time-by-changing-the-way-you-think-about-tasks\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/save-time-by-changing-the-way-you-think-about-tasks\/","headline":"Save Time by Changing the Way You Think about Tasks","name":"Save Time by Changing the Way You Think about Tasks","description":"If you are prone to procrastinate you may be one of those people who thinks about tasks abstractly, such as why you have to do it or what the potential benefits of the task may be. Other abstract approaches to task management include perfectionism, artistic embellishment, and critical analysis. How well you do a task...","datePublished":"2016-08-29","dateModified":"2025-06-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/author\/mark\/#Person","name":"Mark","url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/author\/mark\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/131cfccbaaff5083caadb2ebb178119fe605ab5a0bdcf4a00e7f2ec170a49434?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/131cfccbaaff5083caadb2ebb178119fe605ab5a0bdcf4a00e7f2ec170a49434?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reflective Dynamics, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/time-management-plans-blog-logo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/time-management-plans-blog-logo.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/save-time-changing-the-way-you-think.jpg?fit=720%2C360&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/save-time-changing-the-way-you-think.jpg?fit=720%2C360&ssl=1","height":360,"width":720},"url":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/save-time-by-changing-the-way-you-think-about-tasks\/","about":["Systems"],"wordCount":750,"articleBody":"If you are prone to procrastinate you may be one of those people who thinks about tasks abstractly, such as why you have to do it or what the potential benefits of the task may be. Other abstract approaches to task management include perfectionism, artistic embellishment, and critical analysis. How well you do a task is not a direct result of how well you expect to do in completing the task, but critical self-analysis has proven to be a distraction from accomplishing important (and less important) daily routines.In 2009 psychologists at the University of Konstanz in Germany asked students to complete a simple set of tasks by email with a three-week deadline. Half of the students were asked to describe why certain tasks (such as opening a bank account) should be done. The other half of the students were asked to explain precisely how to complete each task. All of the students were paid upon completion of the project.The researchers found that those students who were asked to think abstractly about the whys and wherefores were less likely to finish the project (thus earning no money) and those who did finish needed more time. The students given the “how to” version of the project were more likely to complete their work quickly and more of them completed the project.The takeaway from this research is that focusing on the task at hand rather than the consequences of what completing it may mean is a better method for managing productivity and time.Perfectionism is not universally condemned, however. In 2007 Dr. Piers Steel of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary published a ten-year review of procrastination studies. His findings were summed up as:Most people’s New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failureMost self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastinationProcrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equationThe article further states that:“Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task,” Steel says. “Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more.”Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start.Perfectionism is not completely off the hook, however, because if one lacks the skill or the confidence to declare a task complete then perfectionism can indeed become a delaying tactic, thus contributing to procrastination.What these studies show us is that we cannot lump all types of behavior in together. Procrastination may have different causes and thus each person’s procrastination should be analyzed individually. Dr. Steel’s cure for procrastination is based partly on a clever use of willpower, but willpower has been challenged as being biologically limited.No really, though, according to this 2010 study published by Stanford University. Researchers discovered that the limits on willpower may be determined by people’s beliefs, essentially their beliefs in their own abilities to complete difficult tasks. Such a self-imposed limitation correlates closely with low self-esteem, depression, frustration, and other psychologically limiting conditions.What we often sum up as a lack of self-confidence may in fact be a symptom of an underlying condition that is treatable through therapeutic counseling, and that in turn may address problems like procrastination. People who are prone to procrastinate may allow themselves to worry about too many things, or to dwell on their negative feelings. By thinking about tasks in the narrowest sense, focusing on the steps required to get the task done, many procrastinators may be able to improve their productivity through willpower alone. This would be a strengthening exercise for anyone dealing with low confidence issues.In other words, when you see the task as a list of concrete steps that are each ticked off one after the other, the task becomes less daunting and you’re less likely to feel overwhelmed by it; your self-confidence receives a boost from picturing a task as being easy to complete and you are less likely to be distracted by delaying thoughts while you work your way through the list of concrete steps.Did you like this article?  Please share it with your friends and visitors to your Website.  Tell people about www.TimeManagementPlans.Com.  Thank you."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Save Time by Changing the Way You Think about Tasks","item":"https:\/\/www.timemanagementplans.com\/save-time-by-changing-the-way-you-think-about-tasks\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]