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Management Insights
Will apologies to Carly Simon: Pro-cra-sti-nation – it’s making me
wait…
Why do people put things off? Why wait until the last minute and
then have to rush? Or why waste the energy thinking about (or worrying, or
agonizing, or dwelling on…) something that if focused on, would take minutes or
hours to do? Is this some vestigial biological imperative?
I guess to
some degree, if something can be put off successfully and indefinitely (and
world keeps spinning) then perhaps the action was not necessary to take in the
first place. But how do you know if an action can be postponed, and you are not
just procrastinating?
A series of questions can help you
decide:
1. If this action is delayed, what negative effect will
result? If none, then consider delaying this action
(procrastinate).
2. If this action is acted upon, what negative effect
could result? If there is a negative effect (for example, the severing of a
working relationship or hurt feelings), consider delaying this action
(procrastinate).
3. If this action can be completed within one hour DO
IT! Do not waste any longer agonizing over whether or not to complete this
action, just getter’ done!
4. If this action is necessary for someone
else to complete something, DO IT! Do not foul up somebody else’s efforts
because of your own hesitancy.
5. If this action is necessary for the
health, safety, or well-being of you or someone else, DO IT! You should
never procrastinate when it comes to someone’s health, safety, or
well-being.
If you still find yourself overwhelmed with actions that you
keep putting off, grab a blank sheet of paper and spend one hour listing off all
of the items you need to get done. Next to each item, put a guestimate with how
much time it would take to complete. Then dedicate one full day (an upcoming
Saturday?) to working on the activities on this list.
Studies have shown
that having activities hanging over your head as you procrastinate actually
lowers your effectiveness and increases your overall anxiety. It actually takes
MORE effort to “ignore” something than to deal with it!
All this said,
one of the de-motivational posters from http://www.despair.com/ says:
“Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but
laziness always pays off now.”
© Copyright 2000-2006 Spanitz
Consulting, Inc.
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