Procrastination: To Do or Not To Do - That Is The Challenge!
3 steps to getting things done when they need to be done.
How many times do you start the day knowing what you want to do (and should do) but eventually come up with a reason why you just can't get started - so you put it off? You know, you say things to yourself like:
"The timing is just not right."
"Let me get these few little (usually less important) things done first."
"Geez, who left the coffee pot empty? I'll make a fresh brew first."
Procrastination is born from one or a combination of the following issues:
- Trying to be a perfectionist
- A lack of self-discipline
- The inability to fight off distractions
- A lack of specific goals (and a commitment to them)
- Fear
Whatever your reason might be, the fact is, you are procrastinating. And that's bad for you, your company, your team and your clients/customers. Eventually, if this behavior continues, you will have added procrastination to your list of habits - and remember: Our habits define us. Do you really want people to describe you as an "expert" in procrastination?
Left unchecked, procrastination can be a career and/or business killer. Given the business challenges we will all be facing over the next several years, you need to learn how to successfully avoid being a victim of procrastination. Here are 3 things you need to do NOW to get off this path to nowhere.
1. Stop trying to develop the perfect plan; just start doing.
While planning and goal setting are important, over planning and trying to identify every single component or issue you "might" face can be deadly. In fact, when you do this, you likely will make the task bigger than it really is. You end up being in a constant state of "getting ready, to get started, to commence, to begin". You get stalled even before you start because the plan is "just not perfect yet". The solution is simple: Make the decision to get started! Even a bad decision is better than no decision, plus a bad decision can always be fixed.
Start with just the first three steps of the task at hand. Next, evaluate the results. Then take the next three steps...and so on. Allow yourself to "learn as you go". It may not be perfect, but it will be productive. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
2. Do the hardest thing first each day.
Dale Carnegie said, "Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves." This is a key point to understand when fighting the urge to put off taking action. It involves self-discipline and your ability to confront your fears about what needs to be done and what the outcome "might" be. Whatever the task might be, just get it done and behind you as soon as you can. Besides giving a power boost to your productivity, imagine the boost you will give your self-confidence and self-esteem knowing that you "got it done!" And here's another secret: after you get the hard stuff done, the rest of your day (or week) will be easy, less stressful, and more productive.
3. Fear: face it and push it aside.
Many procrastinate out of fear: the fear of failure; the fear of doing the wrong thing and making a mistake; the fear of looking silly; the fear of rejection or criticism; and even the fear of success. Maybe you have not learned how to take a risk. Risk-taking is how you move forward. The fear of taking a risk is like nailing your feet to the floor. You stay in the same place with no movement.
When we take a risk, we feel "uncomfortable". Many of you have heard me say that to be successful, you must learn to "Be comfortable being uncomfortable." That's how you manage the fear. Nothing is ever as bad as we first think it might be, and in most cases every mistake can be fixed. Evaluate the situation, consider what would be a reasonable risk, and then ask what I once heard Brian Tracy say: "What would you do if you were guaranteed success?"
