I’m a super procrastinator too. I’m also not good at estimating how long a task will take me. On top of that, I feel apprehensive contacting or responding to cl

I’m a super procrastinator too. I’m also not good at estimating how long a task will take me. On top of that, I feel apprehensive contacting or responding to clients once I know I won’t make the deadline, entering radio silence instead. Needless to say, that’s not good for business and causes both parties a fair deal of distress. Some things I’m doing to conquer my shortcomings: I outline the entire project and try to estimate how long it will take. I then schedule the work on hours I try to keep myself to (4-5 hours a day). Once working on the project, I log my working hours and what I do with them. Once the project is done, I review my outline and time sheets to see how close I was to my estimates, and where I went wrong (usually I was distracted or needed to learn new tech to get the work done). I use OmniPlan on iPad to do all of this[1]. I usually work on several projects at once. I’ve found out that I really can't focus on more than three at a time, so I’m learning to say ‘no’ to new projects or schedule them far in the future. In truth, I still have ten projects right now, but half of them are longer term. Starting my day by reviewing the projects in OmniPlan and seeing what needs attention most helps me get started on them. I also have a desktop picture with the Yogi Bhajan quote “When the time is on you, start and the pressure will be off.”. When I read it and fully realize it, that motivates me to get started. And lastly, I use a GTD trick when working on a project that seems too big or boring: I pick the smallest, most fun part of a project, and tell myself that I’ll take a break after that. Once I’ve finished it, I’m usually motivated enough to keep working. [1] http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniplan-ipad/ http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniplan-ipad/