Don't Wait - Read This Now
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

We have a tendency to put things off. Some of you might have been tempted to think to yourself, "That article looks interesting, I’ll get to it later." But later never comes. Often when we finally get around to doing the things we put off, we’re working under pressure of a deadline and don’t do them as well as we could and should.

Let me ask you a few questions:

* Do you tend to put off big projects till the last minute?
* Do you hope and wish that if you keep putting things off, it will just go away or
somebody else will take care of it?
* When you fail to get a job done, do you blame somebody else or
circumstances?
* Do you set unrealistic deadlines for yourself, which almost guarantees you
won’t finish on time?
* Do you overload yourself with work and then complain that there’s too much to
do?
* Have you ever thought that you could do a better job if you had more time?

If you answer yes to any one of these questions, then you are a procrastinator. If you answered yes to most of them, you may even find yourself looking for another job.

Why do we tend to put things off? One reason is that we are afraid of failure. We are afraid the job we do won’t be perfect. Striving for perfection will either stop you or slow you down long enough that you probably will fail. Then you have to deal with feelings of guilt because you know you could have done a better job if you hadn’t waited till the last minute.

What are the results? You wind up spending more time at the office. Your productivity and creativity suffer. You find yourself always working under pressure. Not only isn’t the work as good as it could be, but you are unhappy with your job and yourself.

What’s the answer? If you’re faced with a big project, break it down into smaller parts and work on them one by one. Look at the project as a whole and then look at all the details. Outlining the job will help you organize your thoughts and the order you plan to complete the work. Instead of seeing one huge job, you’ll look at a number of smaller jobs and you won’t be as overwhelmed. You’ll get a feeling of satisfaction that comes from finishing part of the job. That will give you the incentive to keep going.

Take time to think and plan. Mark it down on your "to-do" list. If you have a deadline, put it on your calendar. Collect the necessary information and put it in a properly labeled file folder. Put all your thoughts and ideas on paper. If an idea comes to you in the middle of the night, write it down. It’s easy to forget, so make notes immediately.

Now break the "time barrier." Mark down how long you think it will take you to complete each part of the job. Adding up those figures will give you an idea how long it will take you to finish the whole job. Now, give yourself some extra time so you won’t be "under the wire" should any problems arise.

Next, decide how you will divide the time. Should you do an 8-hour project all in one day, two days, or spread over the week? Will you have to do the entire project by yourself? Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you are the only one who can do the job. You’ll just wind up feeling sorry for yourself and procrastinate.

Keep telling yourself not to worry about everything being perfect. Nothing is perfect the first time. That’s why we have white out and today’s computers have an undo button. I’ll tell you a secret. This isn’t the original copy of this article. I made a couple of revisions along the way. That’s what creativity is all about. If you’re trying to make something perfect, you’re wasting your time. That doesn’t mean you should have low standards, but if you are waiting to be able to do something perfectly, you’ll have a long wait.

Following these small steps will give you the incentive to start working on that job you’ve been putting off. You’ll discover that it won’t be as difficult or time consuming as you feared. Plus, the time you spend thinking and planning will take the place of the time you used to spend worrying and wasting time. Now you just have to figure out what to do with those extra hours.