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Procrastination

November 15, 2002

There are a million ways to lose a workday, but not even a single way to get one back. - Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

Procrastination is one of the biggest time wasters that I see in others and in myself. When we talk about time management, we must put procrastination up at the top of the list of items that just rob us of our time through worry and fret. I have seen so many entrepreneurs who need to do annual employee evaluations or to terminate an employee, but they procrastinate on these critical issues. Unfortunately, when folks procrastinate, they jeopardize their business and at the same time feel terrible about their delay of action. I had a student who was doing poorly and I knew I needed to take action, but I kept on hoping the problem would solve itself (which it never did). I was procrastinating!!

Procrastination is one of those things that I think affects every human being. It is not a question of "if" procrastination affects us, but rather a question of "how much" does procrastination affect us.

I think the first thing you need to do to correct the problem is to admit that you procrastinate (we all do to some extent). Take a careful look at those tasks that you typically cause you to procrastinate and see if you can find some trends.

Some of the more common reasons for procrastination seem to be:

1. Fear of rejection
2. Wanting the outcome to be perfect
3. Fear of failure
4. Feeling the task is not worthwhile or is boring or mundane
5. Fear of success

Obviously, from this list you can see that procrastination can come from certain psychological perceptions that need to be changed. However, if you do not have the time to spend years on the psychiatrist's couch, there are still some simple steps that you can take to help yourself get over this problem.

First, try to identify the underlying cause of your procrastination. What fear or other concern is your roadblock to accomplishing this activity? Ask yourself for the real reason for your hesitation. Frequently, just recognizing what the problem really is allows me to unlock the roadblock.

Second, try to establish a goal for the specific projects that cause you to procrastinate, break the project down into little bits, and try to move forward. Some people use the term "dechunking" for this process. With me, any action I take on a task that has stalled into procrastination mode increases my ability to act and inspires me to proceed.

Watch out for mental noise that tells you that you are too busy to deal with this item. Try to recognize the big difference between what is important and what is urgent and focus your attention on the important items.

Help is available. One very good book is The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett and Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy.

By actively dealing with procrastination, your business and personal life will improve immensely.