Procrastination

I would have put this as my first post or at the very least posted it Monday… but I kept putting it off. I guess this is apparently something I still need to work on! I have actually had this one on my “to-do list” for weeks!  It took me a while to get here because I am a habitual procrastinator, but in all seriousness, procrastination can and does affect our productivity and the quality of what we produce.


Oh sorry. I got distracted for a bit. Let’s get back on track! Wait. Where were we? Oh yes, procrastination, essentially putting something off for as long as possible. I know some of you are already getting your argument ready that you do your “best” work last-minute or that you work better under pressure. I too have used these excuses for my procrastination. That is what they really are, excuses. Most studies do not back up the theory that waiting until the last minute is beneficial. In fact, there are super-duper, horribly, awful side-effects to procrastinating! Probably the biggest, baddest effect is the toll that procrastinating can have on your health. There is a link to mental health issues such as elevated stress and anxiety. These issues are then linked to creating physical health issues. Basically procrastination is bad for you mentally and physically.

Procrastination can also drastically impact the quality of work you produce. We are all in charge of important things regardless of our job title. These are all too important for us to haphazardly throw them together last minute. We owe it to ourselves and those we serve to produce top-quality work!

Oftentimes we procrastinate by filling our time with other tasks, or preferred tasks. This can be different for everyone, but I know for me, a big one while I have been writing this book is Hulu or Netflix! I also have this pesky device that always seems to be right in my pocket, or more accurately, in my hand. It is just so convenient and powerful. I think it has some magical power. I won’t even realize it and, BAM, it is in my hand, two hours have gone by and all I have to show for it is leveling up in CandyCrush, two funny memes, and 52 funny YouTube videos watched.   Television and cellphones are preferred tasks that I would say aren't overly positive for productivity, but we can also procrastinate with “positive” activities. (Of course, a cell phone can be a huge asset to productivity, if used for good). We can procrastinate by cleaning, reading, working out, learning a new language, etc. These can all be really awesome things, however, they can become detrimental if you are using them to put off working on a task or project that is incredibly important and needs your attention.

We have covered why procrastination is bad, some tasks you use as avoidance, what about how to battle procrastination? Here are 10 “Procrastination Busters” for you. What works for you can be very personal, so try them out and add your own!  

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