Just Say No to Procrastination

In light of the current economic climate, you need to use your time wisely and make every minute count. The old adage “time is money” rings especially true. If you are striving to be more efficient and effective perhaps you’re ready to just say no to procrastination.

We know it’s ineffective and a drain on our energy, but everyone procrastinates occasionally. We put off starting big projects because we feel overwhelmed or fear failure, we avoid unpleasant tasks like employee discipline because we don’t want to inflict or experience pain, and we resist tedious (but sometimes essential) work by telling ourselves that there are more important things we should be doing with our time.

Whatever your motivation or justification is for avoiding certain tasks, consider how much more productive you would be if you could break the habit of procrastination. Here are five ways to develop a healthier and more effective approach to your work.

Clarify the desired outcome. If you’re putting off starting a project it may be because your ultimate goal is unclear. Take a few moments to write down what a successful outcome would look like. Visualizing the end can be very motivating. If needed, do this step for each phase of the project.

Don’t wait to be in the mood. This is a common avoidance technique when the work at hand requires a high level of creativity. Any professional musician, artist, or writer will tell you that they are not always inspired when they sit down to work, but that they begin and often the muse appears. When it’s time to think creatively or strategically about the future of your business, get started (even a little bit) and allow the inspiration to build within you.

Work on a challenging task first thing in the morning. It’s tempting to begin the day reading e-mail and the headlines, checking in with co-workers, or returning non-critical phone calls. Before you know it, half the morning is gone and your to-do list is untouched. Try starting each day by doing one challenging task as soon as you arrive at work. You’ll feel accomplished and approach the rest of your day with more confidence.

Simply begin. If you are avoiding a project by shuffling papers, surfing the net, and thumbing through business journals, force yourself to put the distractions aside and simply begin. Tell yourself that you will focus on the project for 30 minutes, and then do it. Getting started is often the hardest part. Once you have momentum on your side you’re half-way home.

Remember past successes. If you find yourself feeling tentative or ill-equipped to do the work in front of you, or that the end result will be substandard, think back to a time when you embarked on an equally difficult task or project and completed it successfully. And then get moving.

In all of my work with business owners I have found that the ones that focus on improving their time management skills and prioritize the work that they "need" to do vs. the work that they "should" do are by far the most successful! Are you ready to stop procrastinating?