OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION AND LEARNING WHEN IT MAY ACTUALLY BE HELPFUL

Whenever I conduct a time management workshop and I ask attendees what their top time wasters are, almost invariably a few people say, “procrastination,” or putting off doing something they don’t want to do. Does that sound like you? Maybe you don’t procrastinate all the time, just once in a while, when it can make the difference between getting a report or project done on time and taking longer than you should, much to everyone’s annoyance, including your own. In most cases, procrastination is a negative behavior trait. However, in this article, I will also point out what could be the benefits of procrastination in certain situations.
Consequences of procrastinating
The first step in overcoming procrastination when it is putting your work, career, and even personal relationships in jeopardy is to look at what the possible consequences of your delay. What is it that you need to do right now? Write that task down on a piece of paper, on your computer, or on your mobile phone, if you use it for note taking as well. Now consider the consequences if you put off doing this task for the next few minutes, the next hour, the next day or two, or even the next week? Will you get yelled at? Will someone who is waiting on you for information or even a phone call from you get annoyed because of the delays you are causing? Will your procrastination force someone waiting for you to be late and in need an extension? When procrastination causes delays in getting something to a customer or client, you could lose business. Eventually, you could get a bad reputation for lateness or for being less effective than you need to be to get a job done.
The “Good” Versus the “Bad” Procrastination
There are, however, times when procrastinating can actually be a good thing. This is when procrastination is an indication that something is not quite right. Delaying getting to a task, or the completion of an activity, is done not because you are just putting something off because you are lazy or just don’t feel like getting around to it. In these cases of “good” procrastination, the act of delaying is providing you with information so you can assess if what you are procrastinating about is in your best interest. This “good” procrastination is letting you know that something just is not right with what you are supposed to be doing. Perhaps you are putting off making a decision about accepting a new job offer. Maybe that delay is indicating that you are not really sold on this new job as the right career move for you? Are you procrastinating about saying “yes” to a conference you have been asked to attend? Perhaps your delay is an indication that you doubt if this is the right time to be away from your office for two weeks or even if this is really the optimum conference for you to be attending? In your personal life, you might be delaying about inviting people to a Sunday brunch because you want to be sure that you even want to host the event.
The key is to decide in your gut if you are procrastinating because you are being lazy or distracted from a priority task that needs to be done or if in a particular instance your procrastination is a delay that is a way of telling you that you are rethinking an action or a decision. In that case, procrastinating indicates you need more information to make an informed decision about how or when to proceed.
Possible Solutions to Your Procrastination When It is Not in Your Best Interest
Now that you have decided that in a particular instance you need to get over your procrastination because it has no benefits, it is key to find a solution so you can get on with the job at hand. Just beating yourself up over being a procrastinator or labeling yourself as one is not going to help you overcome this tendency. Instead here are some tips that have worked for others and may be right for you:
1. Try the reward system.
Tell yourself “If I do x I will reward myself with y.” Of course make the reward realistic and proportionate to whatever it is you’re procrastinating about. Perhaps if you make those sales calls to try to get new customers you can reward yourself with a call to your friend who asked you to get back to him or her to set up a lunch date. Or you might buy a book or register for a half-day seminar you had wanted to attend. If you promise yourself you’re going to sign up for a Mediterranean cruise that you can’t afford, that may not help. That’s unless you are putting off a new product marketing campaign that could bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then, picking a reward on the grand scale just might work because you will have the resources to follow through.

2. Allow yourself to procrastinate but only for a set amount of time.
Instead of feeling bad about yourself and getting even less productive as the task you’re putting off looms larger and larger in your mind, allow yourself a small amount of procrastination. Let’s say fifteen minutes, or half an hour, or an hour. If necessary, set a timer. Then, when the timer goes off, return to working on the task you’re putting off. (Procrastination may have been a way of your body and mind telling you that you needed a break before getting back to work.)

3. Use a timer to work on the task you’re putting off for a controlled amount of time.
This is another way to approach the timer solution. Set the timer for 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Whatever period of time you need to “break through” your procrastination and just get going on the task you’re delaying. You may find, to your surprise, that if you just get into that task, you actually can work on it rather than put it off. But if you can only work on it for the amount of time on your timer, at least you’ve made a dent in your procrastination.

4. Make whatever you are procrastinating about the first thing you do in the morning.
Force yourself to do “first things first” and then go on to the rest of your morning routines including checking e-mail, reading the newspaper, and so forth.

5. Write down on a “to do” list or in huge letters somewhere on your desk what that priority task is that you need to focus on.
This may seem obvious, but for many of us it can be “out of sight, out of mind.” Keep what you need to do now in clear site. Use a “to do” list and have that project, chore, or task right at the top of the list or write in huge letters what you have to do and put it in plain sight. Post it on your computer, over your phone, right on your desk, on your bulletin board. Wherever you need to put that reminder so you will be less likely to move on to another task until the one you are procrastinating about is completed.

7. Try creative procrastination.
Creative procrastination is a phrase I use to mean substituting another priority task or goal for the one you’re putting off. In that way you complete key significant tasks or goals even though you might go about what you need to do in a different order. Let’s say you are procrastinating writing a report. Instead of putting it off and going to the movies, or heading to the coffee or break room at your office, work on the bibliography for the report. Or make a couple of sales calls, or return some priority e-mails. You’re moving your responsibilities along just in a different order so that the sum total of your activities will be more productive than if you just procrastinate by doing something frivolous.

6. Seek help.
If these solutions are not working for you, consider seeing a therapist or working with a business or productivity coach to deal one-on-one in a more concerted way with the root causes of your procrastination problem and how to overcome this habit.

So the next time you find yourself procrastinating about something, the first question you might want to ask yourself is, “Why am I putting this off?” rather than automatically assuming that getting right to that task is what you should do next. Making sure that you are doing the right things will usually take you further than rarely or never delaying.