Time Management: How To Beat Procrastination
In previous articles I have written on time management skills
, I have generally focused on ways to make better use of time available. Today, however, I shall be taking a look at the other side of the coin, at time mis-management and, in particular, that pariah to productivity, procrastination.
As I'm sure you will know procrastination is the putting off of difficult or unpleasant tasks in favour of more appealing ones. It is a very common malaise in the workplace, and a costly one too. The old saying tells us that procrastination is the thief of time and, as we all know, time is money.
By way of experimentation I did a little procrastinating myself this morning. A Futurama DVD my son had ordered has just arrived, and so, instead of starting to write this article at nine o'clock prompt as planned, I decided to watch an episode of the hilarious sci-fi animation (all in the name of research, you understand) to get some hands-on experience of procrastination in action. The effects were clearly noticeable.
I couldn't really concentrate on the antics of Fry & co as I found it impossible to blank from my mind the fact that I had more urgent things to do. I kept looking at the clock to check on how much of the episode there was left to run. I felt uneasy, like I had a parrot on my shoulder constantly reminding me that I really should be getting on with more pressing matters. Overall a feeling akin to guilt prevented me from enjoying the show.
But all of those pangs I felt while watching Futurama are actually positive signs. For the first step towards overcoming the effects of procrastination, and in turn increasing your own productivity, is to recognise that it is there and to be aware that you are doing it. For, in keeping with my penchant to quote sayings, we cannot seek a cure until the patient recognises that he is sick. But this does raise the question, if we know that we are procrastinating, then why do we continue to do it?
Quite simply it comes down to aversion. Like a child who has been told that he can have a bar of chocolate after he has eaten the fish paste sandwich, he would much rather go straight to the chocolate and put off the sandwich until later. But where the child may have a strict parent to ensure that the more unpleasant task is carried out first, there is no such spur in the workplace. But procrastination can be conquered.
Will power
I quit smoking twelve years ago and while the will power needed to knuckle down to an unpleasant task is not quite as great as that needed to keep those nicotine cravings at bay, strict discipline is still called for. Just as a moment of weakness can see a non-smoker submit to the evil weed and all of his efforts are gone in a puff of smoke, typing a non-urgent, frivolous email can be a tempting alternative to the monotony of data entry. Try to nurture a strict discipline and resist distractions.
Carrot and stick
You could try to cajole yourself into doing an unpleasant task by promising a reward on its completion, such as an after-work drink or a bar of chocolate (or even a fish paste sandwich if that is your wont). This is fine as long as you stick to it, but it is all too easy to abandon the unpleasant task and still claim the reward. So if the carrot doesn't work then a prod with the stick may do the trick. The consequences of not completing that task on time might well be enough to jolt you into action and, unlike the carrot, it is a reality you cannot ignore.
And finally. . .
I mentioned earlier that recognising that you are procrastinating is a good sign, but putting off an unpleasant task is not necessarily down to procrastination. It may be that you want to get one or two minor tasks out of the way first in order to concentrate fully on a larger one. Or it may be beneficial to cease working on an unpleasant task for a while so that you can return to it with fresh impetus. You need to differentiate between procrastination and what are simply good organisational skills.
And now that this article is complete I think I will reward myself with an episode of Futurama, without the guilt.
by: Rich Talbot
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