Procrastination is never the smart thing to do. It is crucial to stay vigilant for opportunities when commencing a startup.
We have probably been a master procrastinator at some point in our lives. But entrepreneurship is no easy feat, and for a business to succeed, its core team must stay consistently focused. The team has to prioritize some tasks that are relatively more important than other tasks. To keep up with all their work, employees must not procrastinate. Procrastination is the act of delaying a task until the last minute. Doing so will lower the company’s work efficiency. That’s why it’s important to understand procrastination and how we could deal with it effectively.
But first, we should educate ourselves on the crux of the problem—what makes people procrastinate?
What are the contributing factors to procrastination?
Not being fully committed to the task
Commitment to the task at hand can motivate you to stay focused. It is essential to acknowledge the hard work needed to complete the tasks. Let’s take writing a novel as an example. If you start with the mindset that you do not have to put in a lot of effort, and valuable rewards will be at hand swiftly, the chances of failure will be high. This is because you focused on the task’s reward instead of putting effort into completing the novel in the first place. The same is true for running a business. You have to focus on the developmental process of your business instead of constantly thinking about the rewards you will reap in the foreseeable future. Most importantly, do not overlook the hard work needed for the developmental stages of your business.
Fear of making the wrong decision
Failure is prevalent in most aspects of our lives, and it is the same in the business field. While some wrong decisions and mistakes may cause mild disturbance to the smooth running of your business, others may even lead to financial loss. With all of these possibilities in mind, it is no wonder why many entrepreneurs are afraid of making decisions and choose to procrastinate to avoid reality temporarily.
You must remember that failure can be a catalyst for your business’s success. As the Chinese proverb goes, failure is the mother of success. This proverb should be the mindset you bear when making business decisions. Additionally, instead of focusing on short-term failure, it would be more helpful for you to focus your efforts on the future growth of your company.
How to tackle procrastination?
Learning how to tackle procrastination can help boost your company’s performance and not let past mistakes bring you down. Here are some tips for you to overcome procrastination:
Recognize the problem
Before making decisive changes to stop procrastinating, you have to recognize that procrastination is a problem hindering productivity. To identify whether you are procrastinating, you can reflect on the tasks you are doing throughout the day. Are the tasks you are handling right now your top priorities? How long does it take to complete the tasks? Does your to-do list ever get shorter? If not, what are the causes? After you have answered these questions, you can deploy various methods to deal with the situation.
Perform actions to eliminate procrastination
Recognizing the problem is already a huge step forward. After that, you should perform some actions that can prevent you from procrastinating in the future. Remember, you cannot solve procrastination overnight. To get better at committing to your tasks you need to put in consistent efforts. Here are some suggestions:
Suggestion 1: Show commitment to the task
It is vital to commit to the task that you are working on. Do not try to work on another task that you think is relatively less formidable than the current task. Remember to stay focused and committed to the current task, and leave the others later. Furthermore, you have to minimize distractions, such as social media, since it will yield endless entertainment, which would significantly lower your work efficiency.
Suggestion 2: Act promptly
Another fatal problem of procrastination is not doing a task until the very last minute. Working in a very short period, like an hour, would bring down the quality of your work. Hence, it is crucial to act promptly when receiving a new task. Plan ahead what you should do, such as breaking it into smaller tasks, and estimate how long it takes to complete everything. Give yourself some wiggle room to review the task once it’s done. With this method, you would have more time to work on the task and come up with more comprehensive ideas.
To a business, urgency is one of the most critical contributing factors toward entrepreneurial success. Not only is it important to instill a sense of urgency in yourself, but it is also an important quality to consider when hiring employees. Hopefully, following our tips will help you prevent procrastination on essential tasks. Make sure not to let procrastination win over your life and business.
Also read:
- Top 10 Productivity Apps for Working From Home
- 5 Digital Declutter Tips to Stay Organized and Productive at Work
- Business Habits Holding You Back from Success
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