Stop Pretending to Work: Overcome Resistance by Identifying Core Tasks and Feel-Good Tasks

I'm sitting at my desk, brainstorming new ideas for my next blog post since my ongoing list of ideas isn't inspiring me today. I keep coming up with lots of great ideas, yet somehow none of them feel right for the next post. After far too long, I realize that I'm not truly working on my next post right now; I'm pretending to work. Come on, Thekla, pick a topic and write a draft!

Photo by Brian Lane Winfield Moore

Doing challenging work can be inspiring and rewarding, but it can also bring up a lot of emotional resistance. For projects that feel challenging, I'll often suggest getting very clear about what your next step looks like. However, resistance can sometimes turn what sounds simple-- deciding what to work on-- into a confusing trick question.

When resistance is present, it becomes important to make sure that your next step is real productive work, not feel-good steps that don't accomplish much. The challenge here is that resistance can tempt you to give the wrong answer to the simple question of what to do next.

It's all too easy to focus on next steps that make you feel better about the project instead of really moving it forward. This kind of avoidance lulls you into feeling like you are working, when in fact you are making little or no real progress.

Feel-Good Tasks

Certain types of tasks are especially easy to abuse and use as a distraction from truly working. Here are some examples of feel-good tasks that can sometimes be legitimate, important work-- or, they may be a slippery slope to avoidance instead:

• Planning
• Brainstorming
• Making or revising lists and timelines
• Cleaning up or organizing anything
• Obtaining supplies
• Proofreading
• Improving or re-doing something already completed
• Taking care of other work first to eliminate distractions

I'm not saying these steps are always bad. When done at the right stage and in the right amount, sometimes these actions are crucial parts of your project. However, working on these tasks can sometimes feel less stressful than other work that's more key to your project.

If you find that you are consistently spending a lot of time in these kinds of tasks and your project is moving along slowly, it can be worthwhile to examine whether some fear, frustration or other resistance might be lurking behind your desire to work on non-core tasks.

Core Tasks

First, though, identify what the heart of your work really is for a given project-- your primary core task. What is the essence of your work? What is the key activity that produces the tangible results that make up your goal? Spend at least 50% (preferably more like 80% or more) of any session of work time for a project engaging in the core activity. For example:

• If you are trying to write something, writing is the core task. Don't get distracted by spending too much time researching, outlining, brainstorming or rewriting sections.


• If you are configuring software or a website, spend most of your time actually working in the guts of your system. Be wary of spending too much time reading books and hanging out on online help forums.


• If you are coordinating a work project, it might be a bit more nebulous. Track deliverables and progress, and reach out to people to make sure that things are happening when and as they should, or whatever are the core steps you take to move your project forward, track it and present information about it to stakeholders. However, be careful of any temptation to overdo it with unnecessary graphs and charts if what you really need to be doing is make some difficult phone calls or sort out the key points from a complex meeting or email thread.


• If you are processing a pile of paperwork that's gotten out of control, use the system you already have set up or create a new system that's very simple. Don't spend endless time tinkering to make the perfect complex system, and be wary of the urge to go out and buy new office supplies every time you say you are going to sit down and work on your filing backlog.


• And so on. I'm sure you can think of more examples.

Overcome the Temptation

I know I'm guilty of this sometimes... this trap can be subtle and sneaky. Usually, noticing what I'm doing is enough to help me overcome the temptation to do pretend-work instead of the real thing.

Do you know what the core activity is for each of your projects? How can you help yourself stick to the core task most of the time instead of getting distracted by tempting feel-good tasks?

Comments

[Tara Rodden Robinson]

Hi Thekla,

Thanks for the great post! You are so right. I found this to be particularly true for me on a writing project a while back. I set a goal of writing in a certain number of 20 minute sessions per day.

I knew that had a tendency to get wooed away by other activities so I made some rules--shared here.

A 20-minute session may consist of:
• drafting text,
• purposeful editing (not diddling around),
• debriefing research notes into text.
A 20-minute session may NOT include:
• Reading source material
• Editing for the purpose of avoiding writing
• Journaling about the writing process
• Research

Just by setting those guidelines for myself, I was able to stay on track much more successfully.

Thanks again!
Tara

[Thekla]

I love how specific you get with your guidelines, Tara. Being aware of what tends to distract you is huge. Thanks for the comment!