What is Delay (in doing a task)?

What is Delay (in doing a task)?

Delay (in doing a task) is where you deliberately put off, slow down or hinder yourself from doing a task that should be done now, instead choosing to “do it later”. You may hinder yourself because you don’t like doing the task or that you feel the task is so easy that it can be done at the last minute.

How do you manage Delay(s)?

How do you manage Delay(s)?

In short, here are 3 different strategies for you to try: Batching, Prioritisation AND Think about Afterwards. These strategies are all explained in further detail under the tabs above.

How do you use “Batching”?

How do you use “Batching”?

Batching is where you group tasks together based on the situation you are in. Down below, you can find a list of various situations that you find yourself in and how to use batching in them.

Location

Location

This can be a room in your home or a place you have travelled out to. If you know you have multiple things to do that can be done whilst your are at this location, then you should GET THEM DONE. Always be telling yourself “While I am here, I may as well do (whatever needs to be done)”.

Time

Time

Time is precious and should be used wisely. If you have free time or nothing better to do then should take the time to GET STUFF DONE. Always be telling yourself “While I have the time, I may as well do (whatever needs to be done)”.

Cleaning

Cleaning

Cleaning is something most people hate but must be done as no one likes to live in filth. If you start a cleaning job such as vacuuming/mopping a room, you may as well vacuum/mop other rooms seeing as you already have the vacuum/mop already out and ready to go. Always be telling yourself “Since I have started cleaning here, I may as well clean elsewhere”.

Errands

Errands

Errands are short journeys taken to drop off or collect something. If you know you have multiple errands to run, then why not do them all on the same journey. This is especially helpful if don’t have a car at your disposal as travelling on foot or by public transport can be time consuming. Always be telling yourself “If I can do it all in one go, then I may as well”.

Cooking

Cooking

People usually only cook when they need to but sometimes people can feel too tired to cook and end up ordering take-away food, which is very unhealthy. Instead, why not cook a large “batch” of food such pasta, noodles or even soup then either refrigerate or freeze them in plastic containers. This way, you have food prepared for later days for when you are too tired to cook.

How do you “Prioritise”?

How do you “Prioritise”?

Prioritising is where you choose to do the task most important to you first. To help you do this, I have broken it down into steps below:

Make a List

Make a List

The first thing to do is to write down everything you need to get done no matter how big, small or important it is. This will give you a clear perspective on how much you need to get done.

Check for Deadlines

Check for Deadlines

Check which tasks have a deadline- a date or time they need to completed by. These tasks should be prioritised first on your list.

Order the List based on Importance

Order the List based on Importance

The deadline tasks should go on first as these must be done within a certain time. With the rest of the tasks, you should order them based on what works best for you. The best way to do this is through “batching” them together based on location, time or by the tasks themselves. You can find out more about batching by clicking the Batching tab at the top of this section.

Breakdown big tasks into smaller lists

Breakdown big tasks into smaller lists

Some tasks are quite big and require more work to complete. For these tasks, you should break them down into a list of steps needed to complete the task. For example, if the task is ‘change my bedding’ then you may break it down like this: strip bedding, put sheet on, put pillow cases on, put quilt cover on. Remember, if you can visualise the task in steps, you will be more committed to completing it.

Commit to Completing your List

Commit to Completing your List

Now you have your list, you need to complete it. DO IT NOW, start completing the tasks immediately. If you find an opportunity to complete a task, then DO IT NOW. If you have deadlines to meet DO IT NOW. You will feel so much better that you did.

How do I “Think about Afterwards”?

How do I “Think about Afterwards”?

Thinking about Afterwards is where you realise the stuff you can do once you have completed the task and got it out of the way. This can be something that you can get from the task or something that you really want to do with the rest of your day. Down below, you can find different ideas of what you can do “After” the task is down.

Free Time

Free Time

Think about all the Free Time you will have after completing the task. You could play video games, go out somewhere or even simply have a break. The sooner the task is done, the more free time you will get.

A Weight off your Mind

A Weight off your Mind

Think about how much of A Weight will be Off your Mind (metaphorically) by doing the task. The task was something you were constantly thinking about, always taking up space in your mind (metaphorically) but with the task done, you no longer have to do it or even think about it again. The sooner the task is done, the sooner you can focus on other things to do or even just rest your mind entirely.

Accomplishment

Accomplishment

Think about how much of an Accomplishment it will be to complete the task. Think about how happy you will feel when you complete the task, think about all the barriers you have broken through such as the excuses you made to avoid the task and even the worries or doubts you had about being able to do the task. When the task is done, you should feel proud of what you have overcome from doing it.

Rewards

Rewards

Think about what rewards you can be treating yourself to when the task is complete. A reward could be playing video games, having a dessert, seeing a movie or even going shopping. As long as you complete the task first, then you should be entitled to reward yourself for the hard work and effort you have put in.

Outcome

Outcome

When you have actually completed the task, think about how it felt doing the task from start to finish. A lot of Autistic people think a task is much harder to do than it actually is so you may be surprised with how the task was not as hard as you thought. Remember this feeling for future tasks as now you know what the task was like, future tasks will not seem so daunting.

DO IT NOW!

DO IT NOW!

Remember, when something needs to be done then your first reaction should be to DO IT NOW! If you don’t want it to be a problem for you or the someone else who has to remind you to it over and over again then DO IT NOW! Rather than do it later.