When I first wrote The Farmer’s Office, I naively thought that if farmers just understood why bookkeeping was so important, they’d be motivated to implement new business management practices. If I had thought about some of my own behaviors and habits, I may have thought better. Of course, I know why I should exercise more and eat healthier. But do I? Not always.
You should spend an hour a week on recordkeeping. You should exercise for 30 minutes every day. You should save $100 a week for retirement.
“No good comes out of the word ‘should’,” writes Josh Spector. Should is judgmental and based on the expectations of others.
Knowing why we should do things, doesn’t mean we will. Other forces keep us from doing the right things even we know we should.
Obviously, there’s great benefit to honing our financial management skills; I’ve spent the last 12 years helping farmers do that. But in order to motivate to do something we really don’t want to do, the discomfort of not doing it needs to be greater than the discomfort of doing it.
The discomfort of not exercising, let’s say, could lead to body aches (which I’m feeling right now as I sit at my desk typing this). But the discomfort of running outside when it’s 7F is greater. The discomfort of bookkeeping is that you’ll fall behind on your immediate farm chores. The discomfort of not bookkeeping is far in the future and vague.
So, we procrastinate.
David Robson offered 4 reflection points to help us break the habit of procrastination. In order to reduce the pattern of procrastination, ask yourself:
- Emotion: how will you feel if you fall behind?
- Vision: what would a productive person do?
- Plan: what one thing can you do to finish on time?
- Progress: what’s the next small step?
These are some pretty heady, even aspirational, questions. For some, this may further reinforce the judgemental “should.”
For me, I was more motivated by an article about 8 ways to add some joy to your most dreaded chores. While exercise and eating healthy aren’t chores, per se, like bookkeeping or cleaning the chicken coop, they can feel that way if you don’t want to do them.
Four in particular struck me:
Realize that OK is good enough
You’ve heard the expression: “perfect is the enemy of the good.” If you can’t get your bookkeeping system perfect, then why bother, right? Or maybe you get mad at yourself for not being more regimented. Doing something is better than nothing. Going for a 30-minute walk (even if you feel like you should run) is better than no exercise at all. And tracking your expenses in an Excel spreadsheet is better than nothing too. It’s OK!
Document your efforts
A few paragraphs above, I commented how I should exercise. Just typing those words was enough to motivate me to step away from my desk and go for a walk… 😉
And I’ve seen this play out in other ways. Every once in a while, a farmer will tag me on Instagram: they’re sitting at their computer with a copy of my book, digging into their recordkeeping. Connecting with friends on social media while doing chores can add a little joy to the task and give you some accountability.
Layer in a guilty pleasure
I often joke with my clients to drink bourbon when they work on their financials. Obviously, not everyone drinks, but it’s a metaphor for giving yourself a reward for tackling the unfun work. And perhaps it reinforces point #1 – that OK is good enough. If drinking a bourbon (or indulging in another guilty pleasure) while doing your recordkeeping makes it more fun, then why not? Just be careful the ice cream doesn’t drip on your keyboard.
Set a timer
Like many chores, the idea of bookkeeping looms over us like a big, fat time-suck. But the reality is often not that bad. Setting a timer when you sit down at your desk can clarify what the actual commitment is. Often, it’s not as bad as you think it’ll be.
Do you have a trick for pushing through procrastination and motivating to tackle your most dreaded chores? Drop me a line or comment below