Hear that whooshing sound? It's the sound of your plans and dreams, your hopes and schemes, your goals and resolutions passing by as you wallow in the quagmire of procrastination. Don't sink there. Get started on 2013.
My procrastination arises most of the time when I have taken on a large project that requires blocks of dedicated, uninterrupted time, a commodity that has been short in my life this year. My solution?
First, I try to eliminate the factors that are interrupting and causing my time loss. Then, I have learned that I need to break the project down into doable chunks that I can get my arms around. I can easily write an article or find resources on one topic, but a book or a resource library are difficult to approach.
More Reasons for Procrastination
A second reason I procrastinate is when I am not sure how to approach / solve an issue. This is a distant second to my first reason, though. And, since I first developed this poll, another reason for procrastination has occurred frequently in my work with clients. People procrastinate when they think they know the outcome of a project or a process, and they are afraid that it is the wrong answer.
If not the wrong answer, they know that their solution will be unacceptable in their organization. Consequently, they fail to reach and share the solution, timeline, or steps, because they know that the answer they will suggest is the wrong answer. This fear, and thus the procrastination, is compounded, if the employees believe that they have experienced a similar situation in the past. This is called learning.
Do You Procrastinate, Too?
How about you? Do you procrastinate, too? Found any solutions that work for you?
Please take the time to vote in my poll.
Procrastination Quotes - More Quotes
Looking for an inspirational quote about procrastination for your newsletter, business presentation, bulletin board or inspirational posters? Putting things off until tomorrow really matters. It is the single tendency that is likely to sabotage your career.
These procrastination quotes are useful to help motivation and inspiration at work. These quotes about procrastination will help you create business and management success.
- "Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the 'someday I'll' philosophy." --Denis Waitley
- "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams
Image Copyright Jacom Stevens
More Resources Related to Procrastination
I procrastinate because everyone around me keeps changing the definition of the deliverable — or doesn’t think abou it until after I have worked hard to try ot meet my understanding of what they wanted. I really hate wasting my time and my work.
ALso, sometimes I look like I am procrastinating while I am actually processing in background — whe I get started, I have already worked it out in my mind — even when it looked like I was doind nothing — thinking IS a real task!
I often procrastinate because I build up the task in my head to be more than it actually is. It’s like creating a self-made barrier by imagining the task is going to require an unaccomplishable amount of additional work. In reality the task is often very doable in a relatively short amount of time. I often do this with household and home-repair sorta tasks. I have created for myself a to-do list which has at this time become a stress-point for me because of the sheer size of it! I feel motivated though today, so I’m going to see how many items I can knock off the list. I always feel better after getting things done rather than procrastinating about them.
I procrastinate because I put too much things on my to-do list and then realize that I can’t do them all. So I many time to reschedule tasks and think about what to do first. and then the working day is over…
The unit in which I work is not a controlled environment. Interuptions by staff and patients (health care setting, laboring and delivery) alway supercede what is in front of you.
I looked at the poll choices and realized there is one specific activity that I procrastinate with, and I chose other since all of the above applied. My job requires that I do cold calling to generate sales.
There is something about waiting until the last minute that makes me more energized to do my work…I always feel like I work better/harder under pressure. Not a very good excuse…but it works for me.
I am not sure if it really is procrastination, but given that the day is not long enough, with the things I have get done each day, I prioritise, and some things just get left behind, as they are not as time-critical or risk-bound as others. They get done, but later when I can spare time.
I agree with (6) Lynn — when I am under pressure to perform, I am much more creative. Maybe it is because I worked in print/advertising for so long that I am more accustomed to meeting hard deadlines than I have to deal with in my career now.
I proscratinate for another reason, also — and that is boredom.
I procrastinate when I cannot visualize the project, meaning I cannot determine what the end result should look like nor the path to get there.
It’s a combination of many reasons for me, too. Peter Stockland, Editor-In-Chief of Reader’s Digest, wrote in an editorial in the Canadian edition a few months ago that, “[it is] my conviction that procrastination is the unsung parent of impeccable timing.” Don’t you love it? … But I must admit that procrastinating does weigh me down; I suspect I’d be better off with less of it.
#6 and 8 have it right
its the greatest excuse and it works- i do so much better
After giving it much thought, I realized I procrastinate because its the only way to control all of the tasks I have to do on a daily basis! I guess I just feel like I have little control over my life at this point……. Most Iimportantly Old Habits Die Hard!!!!!
Undoubtedly my procrastination is the result of a severe case of demand resistance, about which I would encourage anyone to learn. It is compounded also by fear of success and depression. Of course, the procrastination just makes the depression worse and vice-versa, a vicious cycle. I strongly urge anyone who procrastinates to get to the root of the problem and fix it as soon as possible. I’m now middle-aged and it has ruined my life so far. I think I’m just now beginning to deal with it, but the time I have lost is irrecoverable, and the results are devastating. I only hope that I am not too far gone. Get help before it’s too late. Remember, demand resistance may well be the cause of the problem