Published on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007
Ms. Preeti is always late (or should we say, barely in time) – be it her festival shopping or filing her tax returns. Every task or project involves a last minute dash to beat the deadline. It’s not that she is pushed for time, but actually prefers things this way!
For many people, being late is a way for life. They have a perpetual penchant for delaying work, lulled by an over-optimism of being able to meet tight deadlines or the adrenaline rush of managing to scrape in by a whisker or just sheer laziness.
But, how many of us can actually work well with a Damocles’ sword always hanging over our head? Frenziedly pulling together a project or presentation at the ‘eleventh-hour’ may be possible, but the work will definitely smack of a hurried shoddiness and negligence. Slack inadequacies and mistakes are bound to show. And, what if you are left in the lurch – the client is unavailable, the computer crashes or you fall ill at the last minute.
Lame excuses are no justification and will not serve any purpose.
Well, everyone gives in to the urge to put off doing things once in a while. But if the tendency gets chronic, it will affect your productivity, hurt your career and ultimately sabotage your success.
As job coach, Marty Nemko advises, “Procrastination is an ingrained habit, but if you don’t kick it pretty quick, you’re going to find yourself on the corporate slow track.” Not only will you miss opportunities, but also be overwhelmed with a debilitating guilt, helplessness and stress all the time. Contrast this with a feeling of competence, self-satisfaction, personal freedom and peace of mind when you are in charge of your work and life. So, what’s your pick?
For many people, being late is a way for life. They have a perpetual penchant for delaying work, lulled by an over-optimism of being able to meet tight deadlines or the adrenaline rush of managing to scrape in by a whisker or just sheer laziness.
But, how many of us can actually work well with a Damocles’ sword always hanging over our head? Frenziedly pulling together a project or presentation at the ‘eleventh-hour’ may be possible, but the work will definitely smack of a hurried shoddiness and negligence. Slack inadequacies and mistakes are bound to show. And, what if you are left in the lurch – the client is unavailable, the computer crashes or you fall ill at the last minute.
Lame excuses are no justification and will not serve any purpose.
Well, everyone gives in to the urge to put off doing things once in a while. But if the tendency gets chronic, it will affect your productivity, hurt your career and ultimately sabotage your success.
As job coach, Marty Nemko advises, “Procrastination is an ingrained habit, but if you don’t kick it pretty quick, you’re going to find yourself on the corporate slow track.” Not only will you miss opportunities, but also be overwhelmed with a debilitating guilt, helplessness and stress all the time. Contrast this with a feeling of competence, self-satisfaction, personal freedom and peace of mind when you are in charge of your work and life. So, what’s your pick?
Getting ‘started’
The first step to overcoming procrastination is to realise that you are deferring things unnecessarily and discover the real reasons for the delay. They could be:
• There’s always enough time - This assumption may delude you to defer work till a ‘later time’. But, by the time you get around to doing it, time will have caught up and you will be left with your back against the wall. So, instead of berating yourself for leaving things till the eleventh hour, focus on completing the tasks whenever possible, irrespective of the deadline.
• This is too boring – If you don’t feel like doing monotonous chores, try to psyche yourself with a reward for not procrastinating the drudgery. You will be able to perform better when there is a social activity, a hobby or even a coffee break or snack waiting at the end of a task. Else, incorporate an element of fun, and who knows, you may even start liking the work!
• I don’t know where to begin– Monumental duties or colossal projects can be quite unnerving and invite perennial procrastination. Tackle an overwhelming assignment by breaking it into small chunks of manageable tasks and complete one at a time.
• There isn’t enough time – When something requires a large block of time, do not put it off just because there is not enough time to complete it. Try thinking in terms of ‘begin it’ and not ‘finish it’. Instead of trying to complete everything at one go, concentrate on making a dent in the work and within no time it will get done entirely.
• This is so hard – There is a natural tendency to avoid tedious and demanding tasks in favour of the simpler ones. But can they be avoided forever? Will worrying over the difficulty of the work get it done? Instead, take it as a personal challenge and remember that once you get started, the focus will gradually shift from the complexity to completing the task well.
• What if I mess up? – A lurking fear of failure can make worrywarts stick to routine tasks as far as possible. You have to get out of your comfort zone and realise that having a head start will give you all the time to work your way through the new task and make a success of it.
• I need the pressure- If you find yourself putting off work because you cannot get things done until a deadline is banging on your door, recognise that your work will suffer, as the stress will ultimately get the better of you.
• I’m never going to do it to my satisfaction – Perfectionists hold themselves upto self-imposed and unrealistically high expectations. Afraid of failing to accomplish the unreasonable standards, they are always putting off work.
This defense mechanism may get you off the hook of substandard work, but ask yourself what is worse - not doing something ‘perfectly’ or not doing it at all! So, try to perform the task with time to spare, so that you can always work on improving it further.
Other tactics like self-discipline, publicising your plans to finish work (invokes peer pressure) and looking forward to savouring the moment of completion also come in handy.
So, do not dilly-dally unnecessarily every time you sit down to tackle a task. Break the habit of postponing work and begin it today.
The first step to overcoming procrastination is to realise that you are deferring things unnecessarily and discover the real reasons for the delay. They could be:
• There’s always enough time - This assumption may delude you to defer work till a ‘later time’. But, by the time you get around to doing it, time will have caught up and you will be left with your back against the wall. So, instead of berating yourself for leaving things till the eleventh hour, focus on completing the tasks whenever possible, irrespective of the deadline.
• This is too boring – If you don’t feel like doing monotonous chores, try to psyche yourself with a reward for not procrastinating the drudgery. You will be able to perform better when there is a social activity, a hobby or even a coffee break or snack waiting at the end of a task. Else, incorporate an element of fun, and who knows, you may even start liking the work!
• I don’t know where to begin– Monumental duties or colossal projects can be quite unnerving and invite perennial procrastination. Tackle an overwhelming assignment by breaking it into small chunks of manageable tasks and complete one at a time.
• There isn’t enough time – When something requires a large block of time, do not put it off just because there is not enough time to complete it. Try thinking in terms of ‘begin it’ and not ‘finish it’. Instead of trying to complete everything at one go, concentrate on making a dent in the work and within no time it will get done entirely.
• This is so hard – There is a natural tendency to avoid tedious and demanding tasks in favour of the simpler ones. But can they be avoided forever? Will worrying over the difficulty of the work get it done? Instead, take it as a personal challenge and remember that once you get started, the focus will gradually shift from the complexity to completing the task well.
• What if I mess up? – A lurking fear of failure can make worrywarts stick to routine tasks as far as possible. You have to get out of your comfort zone and realise that having a head start will give you all the time to work your way through the new task and make a success of it.
• I need the pressure- If you find yourself putting off work because you cannot get things done until a deadline is banging on your door, recognise that your work will suffer, as the stress will ultimately get the better of you.
• I’m never going to do it to my satisfaction – Perfectionists hold themselves upto self-imposed and unrealistically high expectations. Afraid of failing to accomplish the unreasonable standards, they are always putting off work.
This defense mechanism may get you off the hook of substandard work, but ask yourself what is worse - not doing something ‘perfectly’ or not doing it at all! So, try to perform the task with time to spare, so that you can always work on improving it further.
Other tactics like self-discipline, publicising your plans to finish work (invokes peer pressure) and looking forward to savouring the moment of completion also come in handy.
So, do not dilly-dally unnecessarily every time you sit down to tackle a task. Break the habit of postponing work and begin it today.
PAYAL CHANANIA
Thanks. This is really good. I definitely know people who will find this article useful.
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