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Obviously, if you can get more work done in less time, you will see
results much faster. We are all guilty of procrastination to some extent,
and there are two kinds:
- Positive Procrastination. This is when you legitimately need some "mental
percolation" time to gather your thoughts and get clear on what you need to
do.
- Negative Procrastination. This is based on some pretty flimsy excuses to
avoid doing something, which will ultimately affect your results in negative
ways.
Whereas Positive Procrastination can be beneficial, Negative
Procrastination is something you need to overcome in order to be more
effective and finish things faster. You can't produce results until you
start doing something. If you do nothing, that is exactly what you will get
-- nothing!
If you want to accelerate results, there is no room in your life or your
business for Negative Procrastination. Show me a person who consistently
gets less than stellar results, and I'll show you a person who
procrastinates. However, they probably won't think of themselves as
procrastinators because they have lots of seemingly good reasons for not
doing things TODAY.
You may find some of the following statements familiar. You have probably
either heard them from other people, or you may have even believed one or
more of them yourself. If you feel a personal kinship with these statements,
I suggest that you give serious thought to the possibility that there might
be a touch of procrastination in your own life. Consider the following
statements:
- "I can do it tomorrow." This may be the most popular and frequently used
justification for procrastination. The reason it's so popular is because
tomorrow sounds so close to today. Waiting until tomorrow just doesn't seem
like that big a deal. Just waiting one more day won't upset too many people,
and there are surely many good reasons that can be created to justify the
delay.
- "I don't have everything I need, so I'll wait." This is a very
popular statement used to justify inaction and waiting. It is most often an
excuse that salespeople use to avoid making telephone calls to prospects.
The truth is that you can always take some kind of action, regardless of the
list of the things you think you need before you can start. All you have to
do is be honest about it and look for what is possible to do today. Do not
wait until you have everything you think you need before you start doing
things.
- "I can't do it perfectly, so I'll wait." This excuse doesn't make
much sense if you ask yourself the question: Can we ever do anything
perfectly? I think not. How do you feel about this statement? Do you feel as
though you have to be able to perform perfectly before you can be willing to
act? If you do have this attitude, you are in serious trouble, because you
will NEVER be able to do anything perfectly.
- "I don't have time right now."
Why and how do we get the idea that we have to be able to finish something
before we can work on it? Let me use a book-writing example to show you what
I mean by this. A non-fiction book is a collection of chapters. Each chapter
is a collection of ideas about a specific topic. Each idea may have many
sub-points. When I begin a book project, how many books would I complete if
I believed I had to finish the entire book in one, continuous work session?
The answer is that I would never complete any book project if I believed
this was necessary. The correct approach is to do what you can, when you
can!
- "Someone else can do it better." This excuse is a silent one that
people make to themselves privately. Some authors and psychologists say that
procrastination is rooted in the fear of success. I'm not a psychologist,
but I think it's more likely people fear failure more than they fear
success. Let's face it -- people don't want to look bad, and they are
hesitant to put themselves in position where they might fail.
Procrastination is a tool that many people use because they falsely believe
it will save them from failure. The truth is that procrastination usually
guarantees failure.
Procrastination may be many things, but mostly it's a bad habit. Someone
once said, "Repetition strengthens and confirms." Simply put, this means
that the more you do something, the easier it gets! I believe people learn
how to procrastinate over a long period of time, and the more they do it,
the easier it becomes. So, if you want better results and greater success,
take a look at the issue of procrastination in your life. Sit down today and
make a list of all the things you need to do that you have not completed.
How many are the result of procrastination? You might be surprised.
©2008 Tony Jeary, author of
Strategic Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed of Life
Author Tony Jeary, author of Strategic Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed
of Life, has been and continues to be the coach to the world's top CEOs and
high achievers for more than 20 years. His clients include the Presidents of
Wal-Mart, Firestone, Shell, Samsung, New York Life, and the United States
Senate, to name only a few. An advisor to many, Tony Jeary has invested his
life and career in helping others discover new clarity for their vision,
develop focus on direction, and create powerful execution strategies that
strategically impact achievement and results. Tony is happily married and
blessed with 2 great daughters.
Learn more about Strategic Acceleration at
www.strategicacceleration.com
Visit Tony Jeary at www.tonyjeary.com
February 2009
