One of the biggest things people waste time on is procrastination. Avoiding the things they ‘should’ be doing.

I’m sure you've heard tales or perhaps even been guilty of things like this.

• The DIY project half-completed or barely started years later.
• The book on time management and procrastination you’ve never read, because you ‘don’t have the time’.
• The goals or to-do list from years ago with nothing ticked off.
• The project or report you’ve known about for weeks but only find the time for the week or even the day it’s due! 

How many tasks are you putting off right now?

You put off important tasks or resist doing one or two while managing to find time for something less important.

How often do you avoid or distract yourself by doing email, tidying your desk, organising your bookcase?

Leave a task long enough and it gets to the point where it can no longer be ignored. NOW it has to be done. Magically, NOW you find the time for it.

Reasons We Procrastinate

Understand why you procrastinate and take corrective action.

Resistance. The more you resist the harder and worse it becomes in your own mind. However, once you get started you find it's not as bad as you thought.

Fear of getting it wrong. Not knowing what to do or where to start. Lacking confidence in your own skills and knowledge to complete the task.

Future Time - the completion date is in the future. You think you have plenty of time. However, that time quickly disappears and the closer it gets, the less there is.

Energy/Motivation - for more mundane tasks when there are more interesting things to do. Not having the energy, headspace or understanding the motivation for a task. Don't underestimate this. Energy levels have an impact on productivity and procrastination.

Duration - it’s going to take too long. You don’t have the time right now. You'll do it later when you ... finish this project, have more time.

Perfectionism. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can stop you getting started. You won’t have time to finish it or you spend too long on a task trying to make it perfect.

Impact And Consequences

Any procrastination has an impact, not just in wasted time.

• Financial - fines, late/missed payment - tax returns, bills.
• Personal development - missed opportunities, career progression, poor reputation, lack of trust, confidence.
• Physical -  health and fitness, not just the stress but putting off health related issues can lead to longer-term or more persistent problems.
• Emotional - adds to stress, pressure and overwhelm.

Understand the reason for your procrastination to reduce the impact.

• What are you avoiding or resisting?
• What’s stopping you from moving forward, getting started?
• What is the benefit of procrastinating, what do you gain?
• What is the impact - short-term and long-term?

How To Prevent Procrastination

Take the following steps to avoid or prevent procrastination:

Decide.

Make a decision this task is worth doing. How important is it to everything else on your list? When are you going to do it and what do you need to break the resistance and move forward. If it doesn’t have a positive impact or you simply don’t have time, cross it off, let it go and move on. You can always put it on your ‘One Day/Some Day list’.

Break It Down.

Larger tasks can seem overwhelming. Break them down into smaller steps or simpler tasks. They won't seem quite so overwhelming or time-consuming. What’s the first step you need to take to get started? If your task is to write a report, the first step might be to gather information, do research, create a draft. Take that first step.

Set the ball in motion for the next step, particularly if you need information or support from someone else before you can carry on.

Set Time Limits.

A task is going to take 1 hour, 4 hours or a day to complete. Set a time limit of 30 minutes or an hour to work on the task. You don’t have to do the whole task in one go and it’s less daunting than trying to find a longer block of time to work on it.

Set an appropriate amount of time. Stop getting caught up in perfectionism and spending more time on a task than it’s warrants. Your idea of perfect may exceed what’s expected. What would be ‘good enough’? Complete the task without trying to achieve 100% perfection, especially if it stops you from moving forward.

Quick Bites.

The easiest way to tackle many of the tasks we’re likely to resist or put off, is to set an even shorter time limit. Spend just 5 or 10 minutes on it. After all, you can do something for 5-10 minutes. By taking small bites you’ll be getting closer to completion. It can also build momentum as once break the resistance and get started it’s easier to keep going.

• Writing a report - take five minutes to jot down a few key ideas or layout.
• Exercise -  10 minutes for a HITT session, stretches, jog around the block.
• Admin - 10 minutes at a time to tackle the filing pile, Inbox, update the accounts, send out a few emails.

Set aside 5-10 minutes at the beginning and end of the day for those ‘quick bite’ tasks.

Just Do It!

When you catch yourself putting something off again, like making a phone call or sending an email, instead of saying “I’ll do it in a minute, or I’ll do it later” … JUST DO IT!  Don’t put it off any longer, get it out of the way. You can then move on and stop worrying. 

Good Procrastination

Yes, some procrastination can be good.

Do you find you put things off because something doesn’t ‘feel right’.  Have you had a decision to make or something to do and find by leaving it, the need or urgency disappears or a solution presents itself?

Don't use this as an excuse to procrastinate but an indication to look at where the resistance is coming from and why. Perhaps you don’t have enough information to make a decision or complete the task. Leaving it until a later date might be the right thing to do.

Real Life Example:

A client I’m working with had been putting off installing a new piece of equipment. It was already onsite but they didn’t have the time to install it. They were already busy and it would take a while to plan and organise the installation.

The business impact is: projects take longer, they can’t handle as many clients and they’re not working as efficiently. They’d put the installation off for several months already. The area needed to be cleared and prep'd, an engineer visit arranged to install and set it up, train staff … etc.

Their first step was to call the engineer and arrange a date for the site visit and installation.

Actually, the first step was to recognise the impact on their business of NOT having the equipment installed and commit to a completion date. Then make the call.

They did this during our weekly call. It took about 5 minutes by the end of which they’d set a date for the site visit and the other tasks could then be planned. In a matter of minutes, something they’d been putting off for months was moved forward, just because they made a decision and made a phone call.

When the benefit of NOT doing something becomes greater than the benefit of doing it, resistance disappears.

If a task is worthy of your attention in the first place, take action sooner rather than later. If not, let it go and stop wasting more time avoiding or worrying about it.

Improving your ability to plan and prioritise your goals, objectives and daily tasks also helps to reduce procrastination.

If you've got something you're avoiding or putting off, let's have a quick chat and I'll help you get unstuck and moving forward.

Find Out More:

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Delegate Don't Dump (blog post) - for those tasks you hate to do that someone else could do quicker, more easily and efficiently than you.

Make Sense of Your To-Do List (blog post)

Get in touch to find ways to stop procrastinating and use your time more productively.