35 things you could do in five minutes

This list is not universal. You might find some things useful so use at as a starting point for your own list. The main reason for making such list is to be prepared for time gaps. Time gaps usually occurs when you wait something to happen. You should have appropriate materials with you (to do lists, piece of paper, ...). Filling ten such time gaps will give you an extra hour a day.

1. Socialize
   
2. Write down your ideas
   
3. Make a phone call
4. Relax
5. Decluter you area
6. Write a grocery list
7. Change your mood
   
8. Check your to do lists
9. Ask yourself "Is the following task really that important?"
10. Teach your child something
11. Clean your monitor
12. Watch people around you and practice reading body language
13. Visualize your goals
14. Pay your bills online
15. Change your clothes
16. Make up the bed
17. Scramble some eggs
18. Prepare food for further processing
19. Learn one word in a foreign language
20. Do nothing
21. Make a plan
22. Fix something that's broken
    
23. Walk a little bit
24. Prepare for a day
25. Try not to buy anything
26. Try to invest money saved by buying
27. Think about random thing in your life that you could improve
28. Exercise a little bit
    
29. Read a magazine or a book
30. Reflect about your carrier
    
31. Reflect about your relationships
32. Reflect about your job
33. Think about birthday gifts for loved ones
    
34. List your positive sides
35. Eat an apple
36. Finish 5 minute task from the most important project
    

How to deal with unpleasant tasks?

There are several strategies for dealing with the tasks we don't like.

1. Do it first thing in the morning. That way you fight procrastination and the rest of the day you should feel fine.
   
2. Make the task pleasant. If you don't like cooking, try with cooking exotic food or listen music you love.
3. Reward yourself. When you finish with task, reward yourself. Meditate, socialize or do something else that you like.
4. Delegate. Is it really necessary that you personally do that?
5. Eliminate. Do you really have to do it?
   
6. Split the task. Smaller task are less unpleasant.
7. Why this task is unpleasant? Find out the reasons for your negative emotions, and fix it.
8. Use calendar and to do list. Having unpleasant task in writing somehow makes you think about task as a fact.
9. Make a habit of doing something unpleasant every day. That way you will stretch your comfort zone and less tasks will be unpleasant.
10. It doesn't need to be perfect. The task should be done. It is not necessary to be perfect.
    
11. Start with the subtasks that are not that unpleasant. Not all tasks should be done in some order. You could attack the task from the point that you find interesting.
12. Tomorrow is your enemy. Keep in mind that this task will not be more pleasant tomorrow.
    
13. Stop negative thoughts. For example you might think: "I hate responding to all those emails". The more emails the more you hate responding. If you switch that line of thinking with "I wander if there is something that I can learn from this email?" answering emails could be less unpleasant.
14. Group unpleasant tasks. You could schedule some time for doing unpleasant tasks, for example every Monday (9-11).
    

What tasks you could delegate?

The answer is quite simple "All of them" unless you want to do it yourself. Here is a list of tasks that could be delegated. Brain storm and find what you would add to the list.

1. Communication (dealing with mail, phone and emails).
2. Document formating (desktop publishing, web site, presentations (power point)
3. Data processing
4. Fact finding
5. Bookkeeping
6. Writing
7. Marketing
8. Product selling
9. Product delivery
10. Photocopying, printing, collating
11. Packing
12. Finding prospects
13. Cold calling
14. Answering usual questions
15. Market analysis
16. Product manufacturing
17. Product development
18. Searching for credit
19. Gardening
20. Housekeeping
21. Mowing lawns
22. Dealing with laundry
23. Buying groceries
24. Cooking
25. Cleaning
26. Car washing
27. Car maintenance
28. Baby sitting
29. Personal tutoring
30. Personal coaching
...

Why to delegate tasks?

There are several possible reasons for delegation of tasks:

1. You don't know how to complete the task,
2. You know how to complete the task, but someone could finish it sooner and better,
3. You don't like working on that task,
4. You don't have the time for that task,
5. It is cheaper if someone else do it,

Some of this reasons we are aware of and we delegate tasks without thinking. For example when we are in legal trouble, we don't hesitate to ask or hire a lawyer. Lawyer know how to complete the task, and it is probably cheaper to hire a lawyer than to pay $100k penalty or even to go to prison.

On the other hand, usually we don't delegate regularly. We usually delegate in the case of emergency. I believe that we could delegate far more than we do. Decision process of whether you should delegate or not could look like this.

• Calculate the price of task if you have to do it.
  For example, you have a lawn that should be mowed. You have a low cost lawn mower and using it you could mow your lawn for 2 hours. Your pay per hour is 15$. Than the cost of you doing it is 30$+amortization of your lawn mower.
• Calculate the price of task if someone else is going to do it
  For example, The Lawn Mower corp. could mow your lawn for one hour, charging you 25$ per hour.
• Find out what is cheaper!
  In this example it is cheaper to hire The Lawn Mower corp. 25$ vs. 30$+amortization of your lawn mower. In that case you don't even need to have a lawn mower, and you can do something more purposefully with that money.

Of course, another part of the equation would be the pleasure for mowing your lawn. Don't delegate a tasks that you enjoy doing just for couple of dollars.

Twenty tips for beating procrastination

1. Designate a couple of minutes for the task you procrastinate. A couple of minutes of any task is not mission impossible. I hate washing dishes, but washing dishes only 2 minutes is not that hard. After that, you can continue with procrastinated activity or do something else.


2. If it comes to your mind that you should do something, then do it NOW. It might not be possible, but start with it anyway. For example, you could watch the TV, but it pops into your mind that you should wash the dishes. Usual response, is "I'll wait for this show to finish and then I will wash the dishes". Of course, after that you will be tired, or something else. This behavior becomes a habit. You must stop with this habit. Therefore, whenever it comes to your mind that you should do something do it instantly.


3. Designate some time for doing unpleasant things and be very specific. For example, I will wash my dishes from 7pm to 7:30pm every day. Use alarm clock as reminder.

4. Split tasks to very small subtasks. Such small tasks would not be that hard to do.

5. Create a reward system. For example: for each plate I wash, I will spend 1 minutes watching TV,

6. Create a list of unpleasant tasks. Do everyday something unpleasant from that list, starting from the least unpleasant. That way, some tasks will not be unpleasant and there will be less tasks that you procrastinate on.

7. Modify you internal thinking. If you think "I hate to wash the dishes" and hate every plate that you wash, you will certainly delay washing. When washing the dishes start to block that line of thoughts. For example, whenever I wash the dishes, I will listen for sounds that I make, or I will think about my family, or something else that makes you happy.

8. Set a deadline for finishing a certain task. For example, I will finish washing the dishes before tonights game.

9. Imagine the negative consequences of not finishing a task.

10. Imagine the positive consequences of finishing a task.

11. Find the reasons behind procrastination: If it is physical (tired, hungry, thirsty ...) fix it is possible. If it is psychological change the line of thinking: If it is not fun, then find something funny inside of it, if you are scared find something in it that you are not afraid of.

12. Block the things that you use when you procrastinate. For example sell your TV, turn off your computer, or block the Internet.

13. Find something that you like to do about this task and do it.

14. Do only one thing at the time. You cannot do two things at the time, and if you try to do it, one will certainly be postponed.

15. Make a daily schedule, and try to stick with it.

16. Make a habit of finishing tasks. Even if it is boring. We usually procrastinate on unfinished tasks.

17. Read and learn about task management and similar topics.

18. Schedule some things that you like to do. Don't work only on task that you dislike. Life should be fun.

19. Delegate things that you can delegate. You could even pay someone else to do it if possible.

20. Find someone who will beat you until you finish the task. Well, not literally. Someone that phone you and nag about finishing the task could push you to do it eventually.