I'll Do It Tomorrow

We assume we'll have tomorrow.

In our personal lives, we put off things like laundry, paying the bills, cleaning out that nasty kitchen drawer - until tomorrow. I personally put off laundry for as long as I can….

We do the same in business when it comes to prioritizing actions. We choose the comfortable things, things we know how to do as our first choice. We’ll begin an exciting new endeavor as a first priority as well. But we put off facing that sticky situation, digging into that gnawing problem until another day. Maybe we think that if we wait one more day, we won’t have to face that tough but necessary decision. 

• We don't fire that problem child who's fighting us at every step - vocally and publicly. We hold onto the hope that they'll change and we won't have to be the bad guy.

• We make excuses for our declining product value. Maybe if we add more ‘freebies’ we can make our favorite baby more attractive again.

• We don't walk away from that all-important customer, the one that sucks our resources dry.  We don't know if we’ll have a customer to replace them for tomorrow.

Waiting for tomorrow is no way to prioritize.

If I told you that today was your last day to make a business decision for the next year - what would you do?  What if I told you there wouldn't be a tomorrow unless you made the right decisions today? Would that change your priorities? I bet it would.

Think about it this week. Pay attention to the things you put off till tomorrow, next week, next month.  Then ask yourself  “If today were my last chance to save my business what would I do first? If it were my last chance to capture that opportunity, what would I do?”

We all procrastinate about little things. It's the big things that need attention - today.  As Victor Kiam said, “Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin.”

Comments

[Rebel Brown]

Thansk for stopping by and commenting you two. For some reason my earlier responses to you didn't post. OOPS!

I find for myself that procrastination s a delicate balancing act. Sometimes I procrastinate because Im just not ready to create a new idea, begin writing content etc. That's a good thing.

But sometimes I use procrastination to avoid doing the things I don't want to do Like staying on Twitter instead of doing paper work. That's not a good thing!

I know when I'm holding off for a good reason -and when I'm not. The trick is to move myself forward when its avoidance - and allow myself space when it's creative process!

That's a life long lesson Im thinking!

reb

[Edie Galley]

I have heard others say they procrastinate because they work better under deadlines. Procrastinating too many little things creates havoc on your schedule too.

I find procrastinating creates unnecessary negative feelings. In order to eliminate procrastination I try to imagine how I would feel if it were complete AND how I would feel if I procrastinate....Completing the task almost always wins out.

I get hung up on number three most often though. Going to work on that one tomorrow (JK).

[Kmanespanya]

I think that , for many, procrastination is a way of trying to protect ourselves from disappointment. It's not a good strategy, but one we are probably all guilty of from time to time. I certainly am. Less so now, however, it has caused me difficulties in the past. On the other hand, rushed decisions can be just as damaging. Perhaps we should develop a new strategy called " Reasoned Procrastination" or "I'll think about it while procrastinating". Just some thoughts :-). Best wishes, Bren.