CRUNCH time: doubling down on time management

[centwise]

I have some deadlines coming up and need to make sure that my habitual procrastination does not (a) make me miserable or (b) cost me money. Anyone else need a little help focusing on uber-efficient time management for a limited time?

For me: I have a couple of work deadlines coming up which will require long hours. But I ALSO committed to a side gig that could earn me $500 if I can squeeze out about 18 hours of additional work by the end of the month. I have procrastinated all month and have not yet started on side gig. All on top of a regular busy life (like all of us who have not yet FIREd!).

Here are my deadlines:
Work project #1 due Monday Jan 23 (hard deadline)
Side gig due Jan 31 (hard deadline; if I miss it I get nothing regardless of how much work I have done.)
Work project #2 due February 6 (deadline could slide one day)

I have a tendency to focus a lot of time and effort on frugal shopping/cooking, while sometimes missing the bigger picture financially. (Penny-wise and pound foolish, hence the moniker I chose for myself!)

So with this thread, I hope to report progress, focusing on the above higher priority deadlines, even if I have to let a few things slide domestically. Feel free to join me if you have a short term goal to focus on!

Centwise

[centwise]

Progress report and plan for the weekend:
Today I made progress on work project #1.

PLAN:
Friday evening: Will spend 1 hour on the side gig. It's not much, but I have to get the darn thing started so I can plan the rest.
Saturday afternoon: Two hours on work project #1. One hour on side gig. [The rest of Saturday is booked up with family obligations.]
Sunday: Two hours on work project #1; that should wrap it up. Four hours on side gig. One hour additional work-related tasks.

To get this done, I will forego baking (no bread) and most meal-prep this weekend. Will prepare quick basic meals Fri/Sat. Thaw leftover frozen soup for Sunday (and Monday lunch). Pancakes for dinner on Monday. Absolutely no grocery shopping before Tuesday.

[swick]

Paula at Afford Anything has a great post on the Power of 10x thinking: affordanything.com/2016/11/22/any-benefit/

I think it would be a very relevant read for you. Do you have a support network or anyone that can help you take care of some of the domestic (or less higher earning) tasks?

[centwise]

Hi Swick,

Thanks for the link! I hadn't see that one. Just had a quick look, enough to see that Paula is a good writer with something to say. I loved this quote from her blog. It made me laugh out loud -- so true, so "me":

"Imagine that you want to retire in 10 to 15 years. Should you spend your time:
Learning how to invest?
Doubling your income?
Building a side business?
Blasting your limiting beliefs?

Or should you spend your time:
Coupon clipping?
Saving the wax from melted candles?
Obsessively opening/closing bank accounts for sign-up bonuses?
Stacking rebates on top of gift cards on top of promo codes on top of cash back rewards?
Sewing fabric scraps into holiday wreaths? (Just kill me. Please.)"

But yikes! Right now, distracting myself by browsing blog posts -- however informative and inspirational they may be -- is the last thing I should do! I will definitely go back to that blog at a later date.

With regard to support system: Good idea, I should give that some thought. I'm a single parent of a young teen. Sometimes getting a teen to help out takes more time and effort than doing it oneself... but I think I can probably prevail upon her to at least do the laundry... hmm, food for thought!

Now it's time to go get started on the side gig...

[arebelspy]

You're trying to tackle a mountain by leading with your head.  It can work, but it can also give you a concussion.

One outside the box suggestion I'd make to you rather than the straightforward "solving" your procrastination "problem" involves this:

I have some deadlines coming up and need to make sure that my habitual procrastination does not (a) make me miserable or (b) cost me money.

I would advise you to consider how to use your procrastination skill to (a) make you happier, and (b) make you money.

:)

(Fight your initial resistance/rejection of this, and give it a shot. Start with a brainstorming session around the concept. It's worth it; I speak from experience.)

[swick]

I would advise you to consider how to use your procrastination skill to (a) make you happier, and (b) make you money.

:)

(Fight your initial resistance/rejection of this, and give it a shot. Start with a brainstorming session around the concept. It's worth it; I speak from experience.)

I'm trying to wrap my head around this, it's an interesting flip...Can you provide some examples of your brainstorm to help get the ball rolling?

[talltexan]

Does this involve identifying the thing you cannot help but do, then bending it into something profitable?

[ketchup]

I would advise you to consider how to use your procrastination skill to (a) make you happier, and (b) make you money.

:)

(Fight your initial resistance/rejection of this, and give it a shot. Start with a brainstorming session around the concept. It's worth it; I speak from experience.)

I'm trying to wrap my head around this, it's an interesting flip...Can you provide some examples of your brainstorm to help get the ball rolling?

"Laziness" often leads to figuring out a shortcut to a repetitive task, maybe that's the direction he's going with that?

Spend two hours writing a calculator program to do your algebra homework (and show work) in 10 minutes each night instead of spending an hour each night all week doing it by hand?  That was my philosophy in high school.

[alleykat]

Paula at Afford Anything has a great post on the Power of 10x thinking: affordanything.com/2016/11/22/any-benefit/

I think it would be a very relevant read for you. Do you have a support network or anyone that can help you take care of some of the domestic (or less higher earning) tasks?

I think this post of Paula's was very good and always forget to go back send read it once in a while because it is so true. I have never been a frugal person and will never in the true sense of the word, but boy can I waste time doing much if nothing.