My sister gave me
a thin, flat wooden disk about four inches in diameter.
On it was printed
a circular inscription: “ROUND TUIT. You said you would do (whatever) when you
got around to it. You wanted to get a Round Tuit. This is A Round Tuit. Now you have one. So, go do it.”
Kind of an antic
way to address this most pervasive, maybe most self-punishing, of our unloved habits
as human beings.
Procrastination.
This is “I was too
busy.” I put it off. I never got to it. I haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m working
on it (No, I’m not). I’ll get back to you. And so on.
Well, who doesn’t
live this way? Do you feel that you’re fully up to speed on all your intentions
for today? For this week? This month? Your life?
No? Me, neither. I'm working on it.
Procrastination is a syndrome, not a disease. It is a broad description that can cover a thousand undesired symptoms; it is not a source or cause of a problem. It acknowledges that the thing didn’t get done. It says nothing about the cause or the process. Standing alone, “procrastination” is meaningless and useless.
You know why you procrastinate? Because
you don’t want to do it, that’s why. Whatever it is, you could do it, but
you’re doing something else instead, and keep doing other things. You’re
avoiding the thing.
It is NOT
procrastination when you legitimately could not get to it. Say, it moved out of
reach, or circumstances in some way simply made it impossible.
Experts at avoidance
and/or self-delusion find ways to just stop thinking about it. Bring it up and
they don’t know what you’re talking about. Then, if you have them nailed, they
can – on the spot – manufacture all kinds of “reasons” why they’re not getting
that thing done.
Most of us don’t
do that . . . most of the time. We’re more likely to ‘fess up, burn with shame
a bit . . . and still not do it.
Are we really
inadequate, undisciplined, lazy?
Not necessarily.
We may suspect, or sense, that there is something potentially difficult or
unpleasant in the situation or the action. Maybe it’s just unfamiliar, and we’re
waiting for information or assistance to somehow materialize.
Since it’s outside
our routine/accustomed behavior, we vaguely figure to give it a look “when we
have time.” We just never seem to have the time.
Of course, we do have the time. We’re
just investing it in other things. We don’t have a habituated process for
ingesting and accounting for possibilities outside the comfortable and the
routine.
And there’s the
answer – or at least the behavioral sector in which the answer resides: Habit.
If we’re not
careful, we invest our habits with ultimate power over our behavior. I do this, so I don’t do that. I rarely even think about it. These choices have
been made long since, and don’t get re-examined any more.
I think I’m hearing
more these days about personal focus, mindfulness, devoting conscious mental attention
to what my mind and body are doing in the moment. Some of this is narcissistic
rubbish, but from a businesslike point of view it’s worth taking a look at.
My current career
is devoted to helping people – including myself – adopt sensible and practical
ways of shaping their personal behavior in pursuit of the life
they may only have wistfully dreamed of. I’m now into nutsy-boltsy stuff, do-able actions -- relatively easy, useful new habits.
I’m by no means
alone in this.
Will Edwards, the
prominent personal productivity author, provides this summary of quotes from
Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People:”
Be Proactive:
"Taking initiative does not
mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our
responsibility to make things happen."
Begin With the End
in Mind:
"(This habit)...is based on
imagination -- the ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with
our minds what we cannot at present see with our eyes..."
Put First Things
First:
"Create a clear, mutual
understanding of what needs to be accomplished, focusing on what, not how;
results not methods. Spend time. Be patient. Visualize the desired
result."
Think Win-Win:
"Win-Win is a frame of mind
that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-Win means
that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying."
Seek First to
Understand, Then be Understood:
"'Seek First to Understand'
involves a very deep shift in paradigm. We typically seek first to be
understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they
listen with the intent to reply. They're either speaking or preparing to speak.
They're filtering everything through their own paradigms, reading their
autobiography into other people's lives."
Synergize:
"Synergy works; it's a
correct principle. It is the crowning achievement of all the previous habits.
It is effectiveness in an interdependent reality - it is teamwork, team
building, the development of unity and creativity with other human
beings."
Sharpen the Saw:
"This is the habit of
renewal...It circles and embodies all the other habits. It is the habit of
continuous improvement...that lifts you to new levels of understanding and
living each of the habits."
I read the Covey book many years ago,
around the time I got into Project Management, and into learning how to manage
and market my solo consulting practice. It had a powerful effect then, and still
does.
If you can manage
your time, you can identify and manage your priorities. You can make a routine of continuous personal improvement. Little things, done consistently, have great big results. Very satisfying.
Covey’s list is a pretty good one to start with. It really isn’t all that difficult. It does, though,
take a modest movement of the mind to really convince yourself that you have a
say about what becomes of you.
And then little
daily dose of self-discipline to remind yourself that you’re important, worth
the effort to set a few meaningful little goals . . . and mean it. Bye-bye,
procrastination.
See also: Interruptions & Disruptions
See also: Interruptions & Disruptions
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