Whenever I conduct a time management workshop and I ask attendees what their top time wasters are, almost invariably a few people say, “procrastination,” or putting off doing something they don’t want to do. Does that sound like you? Maybe you don’t procrastinate all the time, just once in a while, when it can make the difference between getting a report or project done on time and taking longer than you should, much to everyone’s annoyance, including your own. In most cases, procrastination is a negative behavior trait. However, in this article, I will also point out what could be the benefits of procrastination in certain situations.

Consequences of procrastinating

The first step in overcoming procrastination when it is putting your work, career, and even personal relationships in jeopardy is to look at what the possible consequences of your delay. What is it that you need to do right now? Write that task down on a piece of paper, on your computer, or on your mobile phone, if you use it for note taking as well.  Now consider the consequences if you put off doing this task for the next few minutes, the next hour, the next day or two, or even the next week? Will you get yelled at? Will someone who is waiting on you for information or even a phone call from you get annoyed because of the delays you are causing? Will your procrastination force someone waiting for you to be late and in need an extension? When procrastination causes delays in getting something to a customer or client, you could lose business.  Eventually, you could get a bad reputation for lateness or for being less effective than you need to be to get a job done.

The “Good” Versus the “Bad” Procrastination

There are, however, times when procrastinating can actually be a good thing. This is when procrastination is an indication that something is not quite right. Delaying getting to a task, or the completion of an activity, is done not because you are just putting something off because you are lazy or just don’t feel like getting around to it. In these cases of “good” procrastination, the act of delaying is providing you with information so you can assess if what you are procrastinating about is in your best interest. This “good” procrastination is letting you know that something just is not right with what you are supposed to be doing. Perhaps you are putting off making a decision about accepting a new job offer. Maybe that delay is indicating that you are not really sold on this new job as the right career move for you? Are you procrastinating about saying “yes” to a conference you have been asked to attend? Perhaps your delay is an indication that you doubt if this is the right time to be away from your office for two weeks or even if this is really the optimum conference for you to be attending? In your personal life, you might be delaying about inviting people to a Sunday brunch because you want to be sure that you even want to host the event. 

The key is to decide in your gut if you are procrastinating because you are being lazy or distracted from a priority task that needs to be done or if in a particular instance your procrastination is a delay that is a way of telling you that you are rethinking an action or a decision. In that case, procrastinating indicates you need more information to make an informed decision about how or when to proceed.

Possible Solutions to Your Procrastination When It is Not in Your Best Interest

Now that you have decided that in a particular instance you need to get over your procrastination because it has no benefits, it is key to find a solution so you can get on with the job at hand. Just beating yourself up over being a procrastinator or labeling yourself as one is not going to help you overcome this tendency. Instead here are some tips that have worked for others and may be right for you:

1.      Try the reward system.

Tell yourself “If I do x I will reward myself with y.” Of course make the reward realistic and  proportionate to whatever it is you’re procrastinating about. Perhaps if you make those sales calls to try to get new customers you can reward yourself with a call to your friend who asked you to get back to him or her to set up a lunch date. Or you might buy a book or register for a half-day seminar you had wanted to attend. If you promise yourself you’re going to sign up for a Mediterranean cruise that you can’t afford, that may not help. That’s unless you are putting off a new product marketing campaign that could bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then, picking a reward on the grand scale just might work because you will have the resources to follow through.

2.       Allow yourself to procrastinate but only for a set amount of time.

Instead of feeling bad about yourself and getting even less productive as the task you’re putting off looms larger and larger in your mind, allow yourself a small amount of procrastination. Let’s say fifteen minutes, or half an hour, or an hour. If necessary, set a timer. Then, when the timer goes off, return to working on the task you’re putting off. (Procrastination may have been a way of your body and mind telling you that you needed a break before getting back to work.)

3.      Use a timer to work on the task you’re putting off for a controlled amount of time.

This is another way to approach the timer solution. Set the timer for 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Whatever period of time you need to “break through” your procrastination and just get going on the task you’re delaying. You may find, to your surprise, that if you just get into that task, you actually can work on it rather than put it off. But if you can only work on it for the amount of time on your timer, at least you’ve made a dent in your procrastination.

1. Make whatever you are procrastinating about the first thing you do in the morning.

Force yourself to do “first things first” and then go on to the rest of your morning routines including checking e-mail, reading the newspaper, and so forth.

1. Write down on a “to do” list or in huge letters somewhere on your desk what that priority task is that you need to focus on.

This may seem obvious, but for many of us it can be “out of sight, out of mind.” Keep what you need to do now in clear site. Use a “to do” list and have that project, chore, or task right at the top of the list or write in huge letters what you have to do and put it in plain sight. Post it on your computer, over your phone, right on your desk, on your bulletin board. Wherever you need to put that reminder so you will be less likely to move on to another task until the one you are procrastinating about is completed.

6. Try creative procrastination.

Creative procrastination is a phrase I use to mean substituting another priority task or goal for the one you’re putting off. In that way you complete key significant tasks or goals even though you might go about what you need to do in a different order. Let’s say you are procrastinating writing a report.  Instead of putting it off and going to the movies, or heading to the coffee or break room at your office, work on the bibliography for the report. Or make a couple of sales calls, or return some priority e-mails.  You’re moving your responsibilities along just in a different order so that the sum total of your activities will be more productive than if you just procrastinate by doing something frivolous.

1. Seek help.

If these solutions are not working for you, consider seeing a therapist or working with a business or productivity coach to deal one-on-one in a more concerted way with the root causes of your procrastination problem and how to overcome this habit.

So the next time you find yourself procrastinating about something, the first question you might want to ask yourself is, “Why am I putting this off?” rather than automatically assuming that getting right to that task is what you should do next. Making sure that you are doing the right things will usually take you further than rarely or never delaying.

Jan Yager, Ph.D. is a productivity, business, and relationship  coach and workshop leader who is the author of 26 books translated into 24 languages including three time management books, most recently  Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover, published Sterling

What if you find yourself in a negative work environment, but for whatever reason, you can’t quit right now? Previously [in this book] I mentioned Linda, who had to stick it out in a toxic workplace for a few years until she could retire at full benefits. Others perform such unique jobs that they are unlikely to readily find another similar opportunity especially in a tough economy. There are some who feel they must stay at a particular job even though their coworkers, boss, or clients are causing a lot of daily or regular stress because they are older and the job prospects are tougher past a certain age. They are countless others who feel that working with difficult coworkers or a demanding boss is better than no job at all.

What follows are some affirmations that you could read or reread to yourself that may help you to survive negative work relationships. You could read these affirmations right after a particularly tough incident occurs or just review one or all of these affirmations from time to time to help you to cope. Here are ten affirmations to help you but of course feel free to add your own as well:

• I am a terrific, valuable, hardworking employee and I have a right to work in a positive environment.
• I did not create this difficult situation but I have the strength and forbearance to handle it.
• I will not allow my boss to drive me out of this job until I am ready to leave on my own terms and within my own time frame.
• I can handle my coworkers or my boss and there is also the possibility that my boss or coworkers will be replaced with others who are easier to deal with.
• I do not deserve to work in negative conditions or to be around unpleasant people but I deserve to have this job.
• I am in control of my reaction to any annoying person or grueling work situation.
• I am developing my stamina by surviving and even triumphing despite these tough work conditions.
• I depend on this job and I will not be railroaded out.

• Others depend on me to have this job and I will do it to the best of my ability.
• I feel sorry for the difficult person or persons who are making my life miserable but I will not allow their problems to become my own troubles or to ruin my job performance.

 Reprinted, with permission, from the forthcoming book, The Power of Workplace Relationships: 57 Strategies for Building Strong Business Connections by Jan Yager, Ph.D. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or reprinted without written permission of the author, Dr. Jan Yager. (jyager@aol.com)

 

This blog is a collection of excerpts from the Foreword to CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FILM INDUSTRY, 2^nd edition, which I co-wrote with my husband, Fred Yager, a screenwriter and a former entertainment writer and film critic for the Associated Press, published in 2009 by Facts on File, Inc. (http://www.factsonfile.com). These excerpts are reprinted with permission of the publisher.

 

David Carradine was gracious enough to share his thoughts about his development as an actor as well as his views on the future of the film industry. Sadly, he passed away recently and Fred and I mourn his passing because we had the privilege of being his friend for more than twenty years.

 

I want to share these excerpts from David’s Foreword to our careers in film book so visitors to my blog will hopefully get to know David a little more through his own words as they remember him for his contributions to TV and film, including his Kung Fu series, movies Kill Bill: Volumes I & II and Bound for Glory, the 100+ other movies and television shows he starred or appeared in, as well as literature through his own books, including Spirit of Shaolin and his autobiography, Endless Highway.

 

Excerpts from

Foreword By David Carradine

From Career Opportunities in the Film Industry, 2^nd edition, Facts on File, Inc. 2009. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

 

Did I always want to be an actor? No. But I always had the itch to perform. My first gig that I remember was at about eight years old at summer camp. At the campfire show, I sang “Red River Valley” a cappella and recited “Casey at the Bat.”

 

At 10 or so, I wanted to be a cowboy. But my first real ambition was to be a sculptor. Then I realized that would mean living in a garret, working alone in a room with a cold north light with a big piece of rock and maybe a pretty model, and never making any money. So I switched my plan to studying music composition and theory, the idea being to write operas. There was hardly such a thing then as a popular American opera, excerpt for Porgy and Bess—an open field, I thought. And I’d be surrounded by singers, dancers, art directors, and musicians. There’d be tuxedos and champagne, and I’d get to meet Leonard Bernstein. So I enrolled at San Francisco State College as music major. The music department and the drama department were in the same building, and while drafting down the hall, someone asked me to be in a play. The rest, I guess, is history. The main reason for the shift, thought, was that my girlfriend was really excited by me as an actor. So I guess you could say the reason I went into acting was to get girls. I think that’s why most of us got into it.

 

After I got out of the army, I went to New York to make it on Broadway….

 

 

Here are some highlights from these other issues that David Carradine continues to share, in his own words, in the Foreword:

 

Being part of a Family of actors and an Acting Heritage

There are at least two sides to that. The first is that that’s how I grew up. I have no knowledge of what it’s like not to have an actor for a father…

 

Some Career Highlights

It used to be, of course, the Kung Fu series, Bound For Glory

Then there are my own projects….and the stuff I’m doing right now in China: television miniseries that are epic in scale. The rtuth is, though, I don’t feel as though I’ve even scratched the surface yet. I’m still, at the age of 70, just getting rolling.

 

Advice for Someone Starting Out Today

Keep trying. You can’t have a failed career unless you give up…

 

Changes in the Film Industry

The film industry has changed a lot, but in many ways, it’s still the same…That things will change is about all I know. It was Jean Cocteau who said that movies will never be an art form until the materials are as accessible as pencils and paper. That has actually happened. Anyone with a camcorder can make a movie and might even get it released…

 

The Importance of Talent Doing Publicity

Well, sure, it’s important. Movies are not like painting. To be a painter, all you need is a bare canvas and some paint. And your brother can store your paintings in the back room until you’re dead and become famous. Or to be a writer, all you need is a typewriter. But a movie takes a couple of hundred people and millions of dollars. You can’t support all that without a paying audience. You won’t get the chance to publicize yourself until you become sort of successful. And then, when the studio says to do this talk show or take this tour, you’d better set things aside and do it. Not for the fame or the fortune, but to make sure that someone sees the work you did—you and those 199 other people it took to make the movie.

 

* Excerpts from Foreword By David Carradine

From Career Opportunities in the Film Industry, 2^nd edition, Facts on File, Inc. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

 

For the entire Foreword, please read our book, available in trade paperback or hardcover, at local libraries or from your favorite local or online bookstores, such as www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, or www.powells.com, as well as directly from our publisher, www.factsonfile.com

 

 

“ARE YOU WORKING 24/7 AND IT’S STILL NOT ENOUGH?”

by Jan Yager

“Sometimes I work until two in the morning, have no social life and I still don’t get everything done,” says Nomiki Konst, a 25-year-old single woman who executive director of Alliance Hollywood. Is Nomiki’s refrain familiar to you? With the tough economy, cutbacks in staff, and the feeling that if you are lucky enough to have a job you had better look like you are working hard, toiling 24/7 describes life for more and more people and  not just workaholics.

However, devoting all your time and energy to work is not the answer. Besides the obvious risk of burning out or making more mistakes because of exhaustion or sleep deprivation, you have little or no time for a romantic partner, children, getting together with friends, or that all important “me” time. Who wants to live like that?

Here are six ways to get more done:

1.      Delegate.

A paid assistant with experience and the promise of a long term commitment is the best solution, but what if you do not have the money to pay for an assistant? Consider offering an unpaid internship for credit only to a student at a nearby college who will work for one or more semesters.

2.      Set clear and specific priorities for what you have to accomplish each day so you can also have a natural end point to your work.

If you lack a plan for your day, it is easier to let the hours slip away so that you have to work longer just to get done what you needed to accomplish.

3.      If possible turn off your computer after a specific time and only answer personal or emergency work calls on your cell phone.

4.      Be careful of “distractionitis,” especially when it involves constantly checking incoming e-mail so you break your concentration.

            Whether it is because you are curious, need to find out who is thinking about you, or you are not that engrossed in what you should be doing, constantly checking incoming e-mail has become a big time wasters. As California-based Beth Shaw, founder and president of Yogafit Training Systems Worldwide, Inc. puts it: “I am chained to and addicted to my e-mail.”

To resist the temptation to frequently check your email, create an auto-responder that advises those who write to you that you only answer e-mails at certain times of the day. Another solution is to discipline yourself to respond to e-mails on a periodic basis, as a reward of getting a specific required work task done.

5.      Use technology to multitask safely and effectively.

If you have calls to place, or receive, consider using a cordless headset that will enable you to talk on the phone while still doing other things, such as filing or taking notes related to the conversation.

6.      Only meet if it’s essential and make those meetings worthwhile.

A survey conducted for Office Team, a staffing service specializing in placing administrative assistants, found out that the 150 senior executives surveyed at 1,000 major U.S. companies stated that 28% of their company meetings were unnecessary. Make sure each meeting you attend is really necessary rather than a routine gathering that has outlived its usefulness.

Finally, if you still can’t cut down on the hours you work, make sure you’re doing work you love so if you do have to do a lot of it, you’re less likely to resent it. “For me, I don’t think of work as work” says Craig Morningstar, an Arizona-based married entrepreneur with two grown children. “Work is only too much work depending on the space you come from.” What does Morningstar consider “work?” “If I have to pick the weeds out of our front yard, it’s work when it’s one hundred degrees,” says Morningstar.

However, even if you love what you do, having a life beyond work will help you to have a more balanced life. At Grand Central terminal in Manhattan, there is a sign on the front door declaring that it is closed from 2 a.m. till 5 a.m. So if one of the major transportation centers in the world shuts down for a few hours every night, why not you?

 

Jan Yager, Ph.D. is a Connecticut-based sociologist, coach, speaker, and author of numerous highly-acclaimed books translated into 22 languages on business topics as well as relationships including three on time management, most recently Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover (Sterling Publishing Co., 2008). For more information, go to: http://www.drjanyager.com or send an e-mail to: jyager@aol.com.

  

Copyright © 2009 by Jan Yager, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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