A deeper understanding of why we brush aside important work even when we know we should tackle it can help us overcome the urge to procrastinate the moment it tempts us.
By Meridith Levinson
Wed, February 22, 2012
EXCERPTS:
Vaden compares procrastination to buying on credit. Credit allows people to purchase more than they can realistically afford. Buying that pricey new gadget, flashy car or sprawling home on credit makes us feel good in the moment, he says, but long-term, we become prisoners of that debt. ... "Procrastination is nothing more than a creditor that charges us interest," he says. "Easy, short-term choices—whether to buy something we can't afford or put off work—lead to difficult, long-term consequences."
Why We Procrastinate Anyway... Vaden says people procrastinate because they're blind to its impact. People also procrastinate, he adds, out of fear, a sense of entitlement or a desire to achieve perfectionism.
To resist the temptation to procrastinate, Vaden says workers need a clear vision of how getting on top of their work will make their lives easier or advance their goals.
If those people could realize how the work advances their goals, says Vaden, they could get on top of it. Managers who supervise employees with such an attitude should take note.
Sometimes just getting started helps people overcome any fear they may have about the work they need to do.
Perfectionists, meanwhile, sometimes fail to get started on their work because they want to have a perfect plan in place to ensure success, says Vaden. "They don't realize that while they're waiting for the perfect plan, the law of diminishing intent sets in. ... With each passing moment, the likelihood that we'll act on that intent decreases exponentially." Thus, the anti-procrastination strategy Vaden prescribes for perfectionists: Focus on making progress rather than on perfection.
One final thought Vaden hopes will help people make the right choice when it comes to getting started vs. procrastinating: "The shortest guaranteed path to success comes from doing the things we know we should be doing but don't want to."
Rory Vaden, co-founder of the training company Southwestern Consulting, studies the psychology of procrastination and the habits of successful, self-disciplined individuals.
Meridith Levinson covers Careers, Security and Cloud Computing for CIO.com. Follow Meridith on Twitter @meridith . Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook . Email Meridith at mlevinson@cio.com.
Access Article, Source And Its Great Content: http://www.cio.com/article/700638/4_Reasons_We_Procrastinate_Despite_Knowing_Better?page=2&taxonomyId=3123
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