Boss Hatch - Entrepreneurs in the Making

Finding Time Sometime Later to Manage Procrastination

by Jim Gordon on January 17th, 2008

So I was talking to Miki from Leadership Turn and we happened to discuss procrastination. Long story short, I was called an amateur procrastinator and invited to elaborate on my newbie procrastination methods. Considering there is a bit of a generational difference, I may have fewer stories - but let’s begin with the basics…

I am a procrastinator. I will put things off until there is some sort of dire consequence if it remains incomplete. Procrastination shouldn’t be confused with irresponsibility, though. I will get the job done - and on time. However, if I know I can squeeze in a few extra minutes of lounging, I’ll run with it.

For instance - I am writing this article at 4:00AM. When talking to Miki, she mentioned her technique of writing everything a day (or even a week) in advance. As incredibly organized and efficient that method seems - writing articles at the last second just seems like the right thing to do - it feels natural.

Of course, there is always room for change - but until you can convince me to unpack all of my bags that are still full from being home 2 weeks ago, unpack boxes in my room that have been sitting in the corner for over a year, and buy my books for class (which started over a week ago), I’ll keep doing it.

Again, let me stress that procrastinating isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Putting things off defines instant gratification. There’s nothing more relaxing than minimizing your Word document and playing one last game of Solitaire (or 38). In fact, you will often find you are the most productive when you procrastinate. During exam week last semester, I managed to clean my bathroom, my entire room, build a website, type articles, and start writing a functional program - and this was in one day!

I will often have 3 checks sitting in my wallet at once (from various sources). I am often too lazy to go to the bank - or I will always be “going elsewhere… and will probably stop by the bank on the way back.” Of course, it is closed on the way back - so I type it into my phone (which substitutes as my planner - I still need to get one of those) and keep pushing the date down the calendar.

So here’s my message to all of those procrastinators out there - don’t stress to finish early, but always draw the line between procrastination and irresponsibility. One of them accomplishes the task (eventually) - the one one doesn’t.

Now if I could just motivate myself to fold up those clean clothes I am sleeping next to… bah, I’ll do it tomorrow.

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POSTED IN: Age, Young Entrepreneurs