People talk about procrastination, but rarely does it get clearly defined. It needs to be so you can…
Casey’s eTip: Determine Whether You Are Procrastinating or Planning
“Procrastination is really the intentional and habitual postponement of some important task that should be done now,” writes Harold Taylor in Making Time Work for You (p. 126). On the other hand, deciding “to do something at a specific time in the future” is planning, not procrastination. This distinction matters because it can ease guilt if you thought you were wrong for not doing everything right now. It also clarifies that procrastination only arises when the stakes are high–it’s about tasks that are important to you or the organization.
Now that the definition is clear, see how (whether?) procrastination occurs and affects you. Usually it saps energy and creates feelings of dread. You can tackle it head on by asking yourself “what is the very next physical action that will begin addressing this task/project?” Can you make that action even smaller, even simpler? When you do, take that tiny step. Soon the big hairy deal will start to seem smaller and more manageable.
This eTip brought to you by the Drive and Planning links in your Productivity Chain.
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