98% of people in the world working for wages are in the jobs they are in because they failed to decide on what they wanted to do and set written goals, in fact most people are in a job they never wanted and never studied for, just think about that for a moment.
Time and time again though we find that successful people do things differently and one of the things they do differently is make decisions quickly and they don’t put things off.
Do you even know you are putting things off?
This is a real problem for some of you out there, you will use excuses like it’s not the perfect time, it’s not the right economic conditions, it’s raining, or anyone of a 100 other weak excuses to avoid starting something and putting something off is procrastinating. Starting something and continually seeking to improve it would be an attempt at perfectionism but putting it off is an excuse and nothing more.
When it comes to procrastination people will justify it in any way they can, in fact there are probably as many ways of justifying procrastination as there are people in the world, every one of us will have a different spin on it.
There are some similar themes though and recognising those can really help you in defeating it I have listed the most common below.
Do you or any other the people you know do any of the these.
Avoidance: Avoiding the place or situation where the task takes place, such as a day off sick to avoid work or working late to avoid a social engagement.
Distraction: Engaging in or immersing yourself in other things or the act of being busy doing something else like playing games or surfing the internet.
Trivialisation: Pretending that what it is you should be doing is not really all that important, like not going to the dentist because your teeth don’t hurt yet.
Downward counterfactuals: Comparing your situation to those who are even worse than you at putting things off, such as not revising and getting a C in an exam when others failed.
Humour: Making a joke of how you procrastinate.
External attributions: That the cause of procrastination is the fault of something or someone else e.g. not starting a new business because the economy is not so great.
Reframing: Pretending that starting a project now would be harmful to your performance then leaving it to the last moment. Stop kidding yourself that you work best at 4 in the morning.
Denial: Pretending that what you are doing is not actually procrastinating, but that you are focusing on a task which is more important than the one you are putting off.
Laziness: Procrastinating simply because the person is too lazy to do the desired task.
Valorisation: Pointing out what you have achieved while you should have been doing something else.
There an Aesop fable about procrastinating, in a field one summer’s day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.
“Where are you going with those heavy things?” asked the grasshopper.
Without stopping, the first ant replied, “To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I’ve delivered today.”
“Why not come and sing with me,” teased the grasshopper, “instead of working so hard?”
“We are helping to store food for the winter,” said the ant, “and think you should do the same.”
“Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to play,” sang the grasshopper.
But the ants went on their way and continued their hard work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants’ hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer. He begged them for something to eat.
“What!” cried the ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”
“I didn’t have time to store any food,” complained the grasshopper; “I was so busy playing music that before I knew it the summer was gone.”
The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work.
We shall never have more time. We have, and have always had, all the time there is. Nothing is achieved in waiting until next week or even until tomorrow. Keep going day in and day out. Concentrate on something useful. Having decided to achieve a task, achieve it at all costs.
Arnold Bennett.
