Have you ever procrastinated on something? Of course you have; we all do it at one point or another, and some of us suffer from procrastination more than others. If you’re an entrepreneur, procrastination can have some serious effects on both you and your business. Not to worry, there are simple strategies to manage procrastination.
How Procrastination Affects You
We procrastinate for a number of reasons. Some of them include:
* Fear – we’re afraid the task is going to be difficult, we’re going to fail at it, it’s going to be unpleasant, and so on.
* Disinterest – it’s easy to procrastinate doing something you just don’t want to do. However if we all did that, the dishes would never get washed and the laundry would never get done. Unless of course you enjoy doing those things.
* Expectations – this parallels fear. When someone is expecting something from us and we’re anxious about their expectations from us, it can cause procrastination. Regardless of the reasons we procrastinate, the end result is the same. We end up forced into crunch time. Now instead of a week or a month to get something accomplished, we have a day or even an hour. It creates tremendous amounts of stress, and not the good kind either.
The stress procrastination creates is bad for our physical and mental health. We can become fatigued, we don’t take care of ourselves and insomnia, depression, and even overeating can result. Procrastination also creates burnout. It can actually be a vicious circle. You procrastinate because you’re burned out and then when you’re under pressure it facilitates the burnout. The end result is you’re just not enjoying what you’re doing and you don’t want to do it. Nothing feels the same anymore and you’re no longer enthusiastic and positive.
Procrastination also inhibits productivity. When you procrastinate about doing something and then have to push through it, the end result is often a task that takes much longer to accomplish than it would have if you’d been able to focus on it with some energy and enthusiasm.
How Procrastination Affects Your Business
Procrastination, as we’ve already talked about, can cause a lack of productivity, burnout and stress. It can also lead to an inferior product. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing or you’re worried about the outcome or you have to rush through it, the end result can be something you’re just not proud of. Procrastination can also make you lose enthusiasm for a business you once loved.
How to End Procrastination
Procrastination can be eliminated or reduced by determining why you’re procrastinating. If it’s because of fear then you’ll want to assess the fear and determine if it’s a legitimate fear and what you’re going to do about it. If you’re procrastinating because you dislike the task, find a way around it. Outsource the task, create a system that eliminates the task or if neither one of those options is a possibility, find a way to embrace the task and get it done. If you’re procrastinating because of expectations, realize you’re going to be able to deliver a much better product if you give yourself the time and room to do it. And remember that ultimately you can only do your best.
Procrastination is something that everyone has to deal with from time to time. Learn to understand and manage your tendencies to procrastinate and it will have no effect on you or your business.
