Often, procrastination is simply a way to permit oneself to be less than perfect at a task that doesn't demand perfection.
You might ask: Why should I care how procrastinators improve? While they aren't as terrible as serial killers, aren't they still lumped in with slackers, lazybones, and good-for-nothing idlers?Procrastinators create little value—surely no one wants to learn how to create less value, right?
But are procrastinators truly inefficient? In most cases, the opposite is true. Not only do they complete numerous tasks, but they also appear to others as highly productive individuals. Their desks are cluttered, and even their laptop screens are disorganized.Much of their time is spent playing catch-up. Yet they're often creative and generally quite likable. After all, if you keep people waiting, they're bound to get irritable—no need to add fuel to the fire by getting angry yourself.This means that while they may postpone things others consider important, their inaction involves doing other things—like reading books or newspapers instead of completing expense reports before the deadline. Yet these individuals also feel guilty about their procrastination and frequently frustrate others. Precisely for this reason, I believe I can offer them some useful advice.
First, ignore most advice from people who don't struggle with procrastination.
For example: "Minimize distractions so you stay focused." Such advice only turns people into couch potatoes, not productive individuals. If a procrastinator doesn't want to do something, distractions won't help.Having many things to do is actually better. At least then, no matter why you don't want to do something, you can replace it with something else. Second, don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself because you lack willpower. That only turns you into a dejected procrastinator and doesn't help you accomplish anything.
Most of us lack various abilities. When I need to change a tire, I can't lift the bumper—that's the jack's job. I can't mentally add long strings of numbers—that's the calculator's job. Tools compensate for our innate limitations. Procrastinators possess tools for self-control that enable them to achieve results, whereas relying solely on willpower rarely gets much done.
Suppose you're like me: once you open your laptop to check email, you might spend the entire morning surfing the web, doing all sorts of useless things. A journalist mentions Tajikistan, and since you know little about it, you Google it. You start reading a Wikipedia article, which leads you to the Basmachi Revolt.Before you know it, the morning is nearly gone; you've learned a lot about Central Asian history, but you haven't finished your expense report, or even finished checking your emails.
The solution is simple: unplug your laptop when you open your email. After a while, the battery will run out, naturally breaking the spell.You don't need willpower to quit surfing the web; cutting power does it for you. If you're not using a laptop, drink a large glass of water before starting email replies—your biological clock will break the spell before the day's energy drains away. A third small tip: Avoid perfectionism. I don't mean stop striving for excellence. If you're anything like me, that's not the problem.What I mean is: stop pretending you need to make everything perfect. Often, procrastination is just an excuse to let yourself be less than perfect at a task that doesn't require perfection. Maybe it even pushes the people you work with to their limit, making them say, "Come on, just give us something!" What your boss needs is a memo with the basic facts—it doesn't have to read like Hemingway.
Last, but perhaps most important: try to be less of an annoyance to the non-procrastinators around you. First, be honest—admit you're a procrastinator and that it's a flaw.Maybe someday you won't be a procrastinator anymore. After losing 20 pounds, getting back in shape, brushing up on that high school French, and finishing that novel, you might find time to seek self-help methods to overcome this character flaw. But for now, don't deny it. If you admit you're a procrastinator, others might make an effort to find something positive to say about you in other areas.