The Modern Manager 23: Getting a Handle on Procrastination
Almost everyone deals with times of procrastination, either with ourselves or our colleagues. At its best, procrastination is a natural tendency to wait until the last minute, resulting in a rush of adrenaline that actually creates focus and helps produce our best work. At its worse, procrastination is due to lack of clarity or avoidance of work. Regardless of the root cause, if procrastination is something you or a colleague struggle with, there are proven approaches that will help you get a handle on procrastination.
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Key Takeaways:
- Procrastination is not always a bad thing. Some people do their best work when they are forced to focus under the pressure of an upcoming deadline.
- If you manage someone who procrastinates, you may need to learn to manage your own expectations rather than change their behavior.
- There are multiple approaches to combating procrastination IF you've determined it's causing problems such as missed deadlines or poor work quality.
- Set milestones to create mini-deadlines along the path to project completion.
- Determine why you're avoiding the work - lack of clarity? task feels too big? it's not fun work? etc.
- Commit to doing the task you've been avoiding first thing.
- Schedule time on your calendar to do the task.
- Determine what the first, smallest step is to get started on the work.
- Bribe yourself. Determine a reward that is equal to the work being accomplished.
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