Procrastination I

A week or so ago I referred to procrastination as the pothole of time management–and it can be as small as an annoying blip on the way to where you’re going, or a bus-inhaling sinkhole that soaks up years. 

If this is a minor problem for you, let me know what your particular secrets are. Most of us, however, procrastinate more than we want to, at one time or another, so I’m going to spend the next several blogs on procrastination.

First–yes, we all do it. When I was an undergrad, my idea of cleaning the house was to procrastinate until . . . well, I not only lost my rent deposit, I had to pay extra, from so much piled up stuff. I decided that wasn’t going to happen again, so I started with small actions, but the key actions I knew I could do. I set some rules that I was able to follow (no clothing on the floor), then added to those rules (do the dishes before I went to bed) without getting compulsive about it. As I moved into my career, I wanted to appear as professional as I targeted to be, so I carried over the tidying habit to my desk, and later, my office.

If you dropped in on me now, I wouldn’t be embarrassed at the mess. A bit of current productive clutter, sure, and I see a couple of books that have to go back to the library, but I live in the acceptable zone between obsessive compulsive and Oh-My! Call the Department of Health! 

This is one area where applying some basic procrastination tactics moved my life into performance that is not perfect, but is acceptable for me. I’ll be talking about the particular tools in this personal example, and how they can be applied across a broad range of activities from sports to academics to relationships. 

For a first step, if you are interested in reducing your own procrastination to a level that is acceptable to you, take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left, jot down five areas that you procrastinate more than you wish you did. Then on the right, jot down the areas you can think of where you don’t procrastinate more than you feel is desirable. 

That’s it. That is the start–naming the thing. And do let me know your own horror story–or lack thereof [email protected]