How to Stop Procrastinating: a simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit

Practice #4: Talk to Your Boss about Your Top Projects
While it sounds nice on paper to focus only on projects related to your
goals, sometimes you need to face the situation and work on tasks that
you might not enjoy.
Obviously, you can’t say no to your boss and expect to remain gainfully
employed for very long. But if you feel overwhelmed at your job because
you have dozens of tasks, you might need to have a candid conversation
to relieve some of your job pressures. Here are four strategies for talking
to your boss to make sure you’re working on the crucial projects that are
truly important for the business for which you work:
1. Do your homework ahead of time. Identify the two or three

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regular tasks that provide the biggest impact on the company’s
bottom line. These should be the activities that you’re getting paid
to complete. Next, identify the regular tasks that get in the way of
these core activities. Ideally, these should be tasks that could be
delegated or simply eliminated from your day.
2. Schedule a time with your boss and briefly mention the
reason why you want to meet. This will give her the
opportunity to prepare for the meeting and provide helpful
feedback. This advance notice is important because you don’t want
your boss to feel like you’re throwing something at her that requires
an immediate decision.
3. Start the conversation by admitting that you’ve been
struggling to keep up with your work projects. Talk about
the two or three high-leverage tasks that you’ve identified ahead of
time as being important. Ask your boss if she agrees that these are
your priorities. If not, then ask her what she would consider to be
important your job. Keep asking questions and probing until you
both can come to an agreement on what you should focus on daily.
4. Talk about how certain projects and random tasks hinder