Leadership Thought #202 – Do You Always Wait Until The Last Minute?
I have heard many leaders tell me they always wait to do something until the last minute because they perform best under this type of pressure. This seems like a form of justification to me. I know that when I procrastinate on something, it is not because it is the best way to work — it is often quite the opposite. I would rather not do whatever it is because I view it as drudgery, am unsure how to proceed, or I’m not sure I’ll be pleased by the outcome. I cannot conceive of any situation where deliberately exerting time pressure until the final moment makes sense.
Most of us struggle with managing our time effectively. We waste many hours and minutes throughout the day and then try to push all our productivity into only a few intense bursts of energy. Hopefully, we are focused when this happens. Unfortunately, this work style only accumulates burdens over time, and we get further and further behind on important responsibilities that require any significant amount of thought and/or work. Moreover, we often overlook seemingly insignificant details. We have all experienced how a series of minor, unintended issues can lead to bigger problems.
I’ve also observed in myself and others that poor time management leads to a bad mood and increased stress for both you and those around you. There is already enough stress in life without creating it unnecessarily. It should also be evident that working until the early morning hours and adversely affecting your sleep isn’t a great plan for your performance the next day. How many times have you seen someone yawn, struggle with focus, and fight to keep his or her eyes open during an important meeting?
Many years ago, when I was in college, I was talking to my mom on the phone about schoolwork and a big test that was coming up the next day. She encouraged me to go to a movie and take the night off. Her advice was that cramming rarely works. You can’t learn a semester’s worth of lessons in one night. You were either paying attention or you were not. You were either doing the assignments or not. If you didn’t understand something, you asked for help, or you didn’t. She believed that putting yourself under this type of pressure only made things worse the next day, and you would confuse the information, or even if you got it right, you would never remember it after the test. I still remember her saying, “Knowledge is about studying, practice, and application, not memorization. Give your brain a rest. It knows what to do… Being an adult is about being responsible for your actions.”
The major problem with procrastination is that it often leads to less-than-ideal results, despite what we would like to believe. You might complete the task, but at what cost? Are the results being optimized? There are many resources available on time management, including David Allen’s excellent book, Getting Things Done. You also should be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot do well. Seek help from other people who are better at certain things than you are. They may even like to do what you dislike doing. If you are a responsible adult, you will realize that the biggest barrier to your happiness, productivity, and success is how you view and manage your time.
Related articles
- Why GTD is not about time management (gtdtimes.com)
- Do Your Best Work (doyourbestwork.net)
- Procrastination – Why you do it, and how to stop (yourmindyourbody.org)
- Why should you learn how to manage your time (wiki.answers.com)
- Time, Values, and Action (talenttattler.wordpress.com)
- Procrastination is Self-Imposed Stress (savingsanity-amomsguide.com)
- How to accomplish: Time Management (mckinleymilestones.com)
