Beating Procrastination Into Submission

Contributed by Jay Schroyer

Why do we always put the things we don’t want to do off until last? Why do we wait until we have no energy, no patience, and no want to perform the tasks we despise most? An old Spanish proverb goes, “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week” and never is this proverb more correct than when we procrastinate.

The archenemy of success and happiness, procrastination finds its way into our lives in both work and play. We stave off inevitable tasks with it and then scramble madly when we’ve run out of time to complete our tasks. Procrastination seems to be a result of two overriding factors: over scheduling and an inability to look ahead. If both of these factors could be controlled, would procrastination exist?

Over Scheduling
In both our work worlds and home lives, we take on way too much. We take responsibility for too much work, too much debt, too many obligations, and too many problems. Over scheduling is easy to avoid if you know how to manage your priorities and resources. Let’s take two examples, one work and one at home, and see how micromanaging can help keep you from over scheduling.

At work, you are already working on a fairly time-consuming project. Your boss suddenly informs you that the company has taken on a new client and that a presentation needs to be prepared and delivered in the next couple of days. Your first reaction is, of course, panic and then you start looking through your priorities to see what can wait, and what can be put off. Or perhaps, you are so engrossed in your current task, that you just keep putting off the new client’s presentation until the day before it’s to be given. This entire situation could have been avoided quite easily by delegating the workload and making use of the resources you have available.

You could take the most difficult part of the project and do it yourself as you are a perfectionist and probably want the final say-so on it. Corresponding research, formatting, and light writing duties could be delegated to assistants, interns, trainees, or whomever you have at your disposal. Suddenly the work load is more reasonable. Ordinarily you would print and put the presentation together right in the office. Make use of nearby resources by sending it to a quick-copy chain where they can print it and bind it for you. Following this route may find you finishing the presentation a day early versus running around like a lunatic attempting to get everything done in one night.

At home, you’ve been putting off painting the utility shed in the back. For years now it has been peeling, creating an eyesore for your neighborhood and a point of contention with your spouse. Now, you’re getting ready to sell the house and must take time away from your weekend to finally get it done. You’ve over scheduled yourself with numerous tasks: meeting with the realtor, walking prospective buyers through the house, organizing a mover, and purchasing a new home. If you hadn’t procrastinated all these years, this wouldn’t even be an issue right now. Use your local resources. Hire a neighborhood youth to tackle the job of painting your old shed if you can’t seem to find the time. Don’t procrastinate and make excuses.

Inability to Look Ahead
Procrastination can also result from the inability to see what’s ahead of you. You may put off the same task over and over and then suddenly realize that it has to be done, but now you don’t have the time because there is another task demanding your attention. Or, because you procrastinated on a task, you might not be able to do the more leisurely things in life that you enjoy doing. Look ahead and plan ahead. By knowing what you might be in for on the horizon, you will avoid putting tasks off and do them right away. Keep a calendar, or a healthy collection of post-it notes to keep yourself in tune and ready to go. Learn how to use Microsoft® Outlook®’s calendar and reminder feature which will help you keep tabs on when things need to be done. The constant reminder from your computer may help you beat procrastination into submission. You can even use a program like Excel® to help you manage your free time against your scheduled tasks so that you don’t fall into the first trap of procrastination, over scheduling.

When all is said and done, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to simply do the things you have to do right away. Whether you enjoy doing them or not, they need to get done and it’s your responsibility. If you learn not to over schedule yourself, delegate duties, take advantage of the resources available to you, and think ahead, you can prevent procrastination from ruining your life and raising your stress level.

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About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.

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