Particular procrastination case

[nterentieva]

I have my system set up. My project list alliened with my action list and higher horizons. Ready for the action. Today staying at home because of a small surgery I had on last Friday. Ok, opened my Pocket Informant. No meetings or day-specific information for today because I planned that. Great. Now let's go to next action list. Open @Work filter. Go through the list and nothing makes me feel like doing... hmm...

Ok, let's go one by one from top to down with focused doing. Ok, the first one is to Call Peter find out if he met Bob regarding the possibility of doing business with him. No, no, no. I was calling Peter just yesterday, I can't be so annoying. Let's skip that one and go to the next Next Action in a row. Call mr. Smith to agree a meeting about 2011 plans and project of telecommunication system constraction. Hmm... I'm at home today and my face still looks ugly after surgery. It's better not to call him to assign any meeting. It could be that I call him, agree a meeting and then won't show up. Have to call him back to cancel. No, no, no. Let's skip. Ok, what's next?

And so I go one by one finding arguments not to do anything

I'm the best procrastinator in the world. Can I have a medal?

Am I alone?

[abhay]

Next actions are only those which you can do next. The reason not to call Peter seems real, and therefore 'call Peter...' does not actually belong to your next actions list. Since you have already called him yesterday, this item belongs to Waiting For list. Then in a weekly review you could decide whether he had enough time and whether this action can come back on the actions list.

As to the second item: If you think your face really matters for the meeting, then again this is not a next action. Just estimate when you think your face will be better and add a calendar entry to call (or to add a next action to call). But does your face really matter, or is it just an excuse?

To summarize, if you really think you are not ready for an action, then that's not a next action. Find an appropriate place for it, so that during the review process you will be able to see whether it can become an action.

Regards,
Abhay

[TesTeq]

And so I go one by one finding arguments not to do anything

I'm the best procrastinator in the world. Can I have a medal?

Am I alone?

I you feel good about it - about not doing things - it is OK.

[Oogiem]

I agree with previous posters. Those are not really next actions because you can't actually do them. If you have called too often then the next call goes into a waiting for or tickler file or someday/maybe state. If the state of your face is actually critical to the meeting then you can't do it until you heal more so again it's waiting for or put in a tickler to revisit when you estimate you will be ready.