Procrastination can be the enemy of any business person. Leaving unpleasant put important tasks undone too long can result in poor service, lost business and even regulatory difficulties.
“People tend to do the things they like first and then leave the stuff that they don’t like for later,” says Joanne Ferguson, president, coach and consultant of Advisor Pathways Inc. “If you procrastinate even more, the job never gets done.”
Here are some techniques you can use to help you break the procrastination habit;
1. Make a “to do” list
Write down the tasks that you need to get done. Better still, make your list the day before you plan on completing the tasks — so you list is ready before the workday even begins.
“At the end of the day write down the three things that are the most important to get done tomorrow morning,” says Dan Richards, CEO of Clientinsights in Toronto.
2. Identify priorities>
Decide which jobs to do first. You could simply make a list of tasks in order of importance. But it’s not always easy to determine the order in which a number of jobs should be completed.
George Hartman, CEO of Market Logics Inc. in Toronto, uses a matrix system to help him create a visual map that demonstrates the relative importance and urgency of each task. Hartman’s system consists of a two lines — one vertical and one horizontal — to form four boxes. One line is marked “urgent,” the other “important.”
The four boxes can then be labelled “important and urgent,” “important but not urgent,” “not important but urgent” and, finally, “neither important nor urgent.”
Next, write tasks in the appropriate boxes.
Says Hartman: “You focus on the things that are both important and urgent first.”
3. Block off time
In order to make sure those tasks get crossed off your “to do” list or your “important/urgent” matrix, you must schedule time to complete them.
“Ask yourself at what time of day you work best,” Ferguson says. If you know you are most alert and energetic in the morning, for example, that’s when you should block off time to work on the task. “You will have the job scheduled,” she says, “so there’s time for you to do it.”
4. Ask whether you are best for the task
If a job isn’t getting done, maybe you are not the one who should be doing it. Perhaps it’s best to delegate the task to a team member.
If that’s the case, evaluate who would be best to complete the task, says Ferguson. Ask yourself: “Is it better for me to just get one of my team members to do it or should I hire a temp to do it?”
5. Make the Commitment
Procrastination often gets in the way when you are faced with the unpleasant task of discussing a loss in a client’s portfolio. To make sure that important discussion takes place, commit to the job, says Ferguson. Have an associate book a meeting with the client so the discussion cannot be avoided any further: “You’ve made a commitment to a client to have the conversation, so you have to have the conversation.”
Overcoming procrastination is a matter of setting rules and sticking to them, according to Hartman. “Any kind of time-management, procrastination-management technique will work,” he says. “But if you cheat, if you break the rules that you set up for yourself, then it won’t work.”
IE