Ok, so you’ve done laundry before, right? If you haven’t, then you won’t appreciate this article as much, but for the sake of argument, I’ll assume everyone has done it at least once in their lives…

I’ve used this metaphor a lot with my clients, so I figured I should write about it so that others can reflect on it too. It may help you see things in a different light regarding your processes at work and your resulting productivity, or lack thereof.

If you’re feeling like you never get anything finished or that the quality of your output is diminished because you have too many irons in the fire, then you may be suffering from over-commitment and may be without processes to handle any of it. Some of my clients are in this boat, which is why I mention the process of doing laundry.

So here’s how it goes… if a person puts a load of clothes in the washer and it finishes, they take it out and put it in the dryer, right? Then if they have more laundry to do, they load up the washer again and start a new cycle. When the dryer is finished drying the first load, you take it out, fold it and put it away. However, many people don’t do this last part and this is where the process starts to break down.

Unfortunately, some folks put the first dryer load on the floor, on the bed or in some other place, maybe in another room, with no intention of folding it any time soon. They may consider that load of laundry ‘done’ at this point, but it’s really not.

Then they will take the second wash load, put it in the dryer and add a third load in the washer (just for some added pressure) and then move on to something completely unrelated to laundry. It’s probably something viewed as more fun, but this doesn’t make the first dryer load disappear. It still needs to be folded and put away. Then hours later, there could be 1, 2 or 3 loads of laundry lying about – dry and clean, but in little wrinkled piles – all over the floor of whatever room was chosen.

Well, let’s go over this. When a person decides to do laundry, the entire process includes folding the dryer load and putting it away. You are not finished “doing the laundry” until that step is completed! If you keep feeding the washer, but you are not folding and putting everything away on the other end, you will get a bottleneck and you will fall behind because the process is incomplete. You’re only half or two thirds of the way there.

To relate this to the office (work commitments, tasks or projects) it works in much the same way. Being productive is about processing everything and staying on top of everything so you can plan your time - to get ahead and achieve your goals. If you keep saying “yes” or you keep starting new projects and never finish them, then you will get the same feeling of being behind. You may become overwhelmed if there is too much to take care of and the processes to manage everything is broken, or worse, altogether missing. Being surrounded by ‘incompletes’ can drag you down in a hurry.

Once you “check the box” on a completed process, whether it’s laundry or a business project you’ve committed to, then you can feel good about having finished it and finished it well. And you can still have many projects going on at once. Most of us do, but there’s a breaking point where you may say ‘yes’ once too often. You may have started one too many projects and not finished them and when it all starts to fall apart, it can inhibit you from completing any project on time or doing a good job on any one of them.

So think about the processes you use each day. Recognize where you may be missing processes or creating too many bottlenecks. Understand that the whole process of getting something done requires that all steps be taken, with your full attention, your best efforts and your focus.

Don’t fall into the trap of continually wanting to start something new without finishing other tasks or projects already started. Otherwise, you’ll just end up with a lot of “unfolded laundry” all over the floor… and that’s just one more ‘incomplete’ you don’t need.

Author's Bio

Leslie Shreve

Leslie Shreve is a Productivity expert and CEO of Focus Consulting, LLC, a consulting and training firm specializing in individual productivity and information organization.

Leslie has appeared on local TV news, has been interviewed on the radio and gives presentations and workshops to businesses and associations around Maryland and D.C. She writes tips and articles for the Baltimore Business Journal, Smart CEO Magazine, and professional association newsletters circulated throughout the Baltimore area and on-line. She is also the author of Focus, a free bi-monthly e-zine, which you can subscribe to by signing up on the website today: www.productiveday.com.

Focus Consulting was founded in 2003. Leslie is a Certified Professional Organizer®, has a Bachelor of Science in Business and was recognized as one of "Maryland's Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises" in 2007.