Procrastination - why is it so hard to start?!

One of the biggest time stealers is procrastination - The art of being able to do anything except the task we know needs completing. In fact it is amazing how we can justify having to do almost anything other than the one thing we need to do.

Why is this important? Well, knowing in our mind we have a task to complete will impact on how well and how efficiently we can complete our current task. It can 'hang over us' like a cloud and therefore by understanding why we procrastinate we can help plan to undertake these tasks first in our  prime time (as we discussed in the first blog entry)

Some of the most common reasons we procrastinate are:

• Not being sure of what to do 
• A fear of 'getting it wrong', failing or letting someone down 
• Feeling like it is someone else's job 
• Concerns that if we succeed we may be challenged further 
• We don't think its important 
• We don't understand the tasks impact on others 
• Some people like 'taking it to the wire' and completing tasks last minute 

So, its all very well knowing what procrastination is but how can we tackle it?


Activity:

• Ask yourself why are you honestly putting off doing it (I do this as an individual exercise rather than a group one in case people feel awkward sharing their reasons)
• How important is this task - both to you and the wider team?
• When you break the task down does it become easier to manage?
• Are there elements of the task that you are unsure of or need guidance on? If so find a mentor who will help 
• Schedule task in your prime time where energy and enthusiasm is higher