When you are trying to operate a
business, getting caught up in procrastination can cost you. There are a number
of things that you can lose out on if you procrastinate for too long. You might
find that your profits take a nose dive while you procrastinate about various
business decisions. As a business owner or CEO you don’t get the luxury of procrastinating
for too long. If you don’t get that loan application in on time, or you don’t
hire that tax accountant in time, there could be serious consequences to those
delayed decisions.
There are so many reasons that
someone might procrastinate, and every one of them has been used countless
times by someone telling themselves, it’s not a problem. The most common reason
for procrastination is that the person doing it feels that they have too many
other important tasks to complete to dedicate time to just one task. They may
tell themselves this while they take time to dawdle and flit from one small
project to another, then when crunch time arrives, they could kick themselves
for not concentrating on the main priority first. This person needs to
concentrate on one thing at a time. The most important things need to be done
first, then, if there is time left, tackle the smaller less important items on
the list.
Many times people will just feel
overwhelmed with a project or task and put off starting it because they just
feel it is too involved for them to complete. These people should break the
project up into bite sized pieces and take care of each one until they are all
completed. If being overwhelmed is an issue, they may want to talk to the
person who gave them the task and see if they could assign it to someone else.
If you happen to be in charge and need to complete the project yourself, then
you will need to do it one small piece at a time until it is finished. If you
can’t do this, either delegate it or hire someone who can do it for you.
While someone may put off a
project related task, it may be because something else is required to be done
first. This type of procrastination can be caused by poor planning in the
beginning of a project. If this seems to be the problem, then go back to the
planning stage and set attainable tasks for the people involved. You can also
assign different pieces of the project to more people so the tasks get done
quicker and are less stressful on each person.
Nearly every business in the world
suffers from procrastination at some point in time. There seems to be very
different views on procrastination among various business types and while some
businesses see it as a form of creativity, many effects of procrastination can
be viewed as negative, and can be measured simply by looking at the end
results. When everyday tasks are not being completed on time, something has
broken down in the process somewhere. When you examine the evidence, it usually
ends up being that someone in the process has gotten distracted or feels
overwhelmed. Procrastination doesn’t necessarily have to be about laziness, but
is often seen like this. Some people put things off for very specific reasons
but take too long to get back to them. If this happens too often it can be a
serious problem for business.
This post was written as part of the Nollett Business Solutions blogging program, which provides businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become dynamic engines in an ever-changing world. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
This post was written as part of the Nollett Business Solutions blogging program, which provides businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become dynamic engines in an ever-changing world. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Many of the biggest problems come when a owner will put off paying bills or doing taxes because they are not familiar with the process. Then when they do hire that person is sitting behind the 8 ball and it takes them quite a while to get caught up which can end up costing the company more in late fees and penalties. It's best to get help as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteYes AJ, these are just some of the issues of procrastination that can cost business dearly.
DeleteI am one to procrastinate often, and my work hurts because of this. The best way I found that works is to simply schedule time better instead of doing work when it comes in. Once you have a working schedule and actually go with it, then you'll get pretty far.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I think there is a little procrastination in everyone, so don't get too concerned. You appear to have recognised this and done something about it, which is excellent. A lot of people find that attending a Time Management course is often useful, as when practised properly, focuses the mnd on the difference between was is Urgent and what is important.
DeleteGetting over procrastination is difficult but if we are going to be successful in any type of business, procrastination cannot be in our vocabulary.
ReplyDelete