Sales Strategy
Tips To Solve Procrastination And Manage Procrastinators On Staff | September 14, 2016 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—“I’d like to procrastinate, but I keep putting it off.”
If you’re one of those people that manages life by their due dates and never procrastinates, skip to the next article—but if this saying sounds familiar, and you often don’t even start a project until it’s crunch time, read on. Here are a few tips to become less of a procrastinator—and how to improve performance if you manage one.
This Washington Post article says procrastination is a “coping mechanism gone awry.” If you dread something, you put it off. Of course, in the end, whatever it is still has to get done.
Now, there are various kinds of tasks and one can procrastinate about most of them. As jewelry store associates, it’s easy to get up and tidy, clean showcases, or organize the repair drawer instead of calling customers or figuring out open-to-buy for the earring category.
It’s temping to say, ‘just do it’ about the task they dread. Except that’s not how procrastinators work, nor how to motivate them. Many will argue that the job can’t successfully be done until the last minute or that their creativity to finish something wasn’t there until close to the deadline. Maybe true, maybe not. But having the skills to avoid procrastination—and the self-control to do just that—is possible.
Some insight into the differences between a procrastinator and non-procrastinator's thought processes. Images from Washington Post.
So, what to do if you are one or manage one? This Fortune article has some solid suggestions:
- Break through the psychological intertia. Accept the mental resistance and break through. Practice it.
- Pinpoint the resistance. Figure our what you are dreading and why. Come up with an action plan to work through it.
- Use time as a tool. Do whatever it is for a specific time. You won’t dread it as much if you know there’s a deadline.
- Set micro-goals. You’ve heard the term baby-steps. Use it. Baby-step your way through the task.
- Stop in the middle. This is a counter-intuitive goal. But if you know what your next action is, it’s easier to get started next time.
Procrastination is an issue that can be managed. And, like every other issue, if you focus on it and practice dealing with it, it does get easier. And now I need to rush to get this article off to my editor since I’ve waited until the last minute to pull it together!
Top image: youbeauty.com