Procrastination Delays the Goals Journey
Don't Procrastinate. Avoid Putting Off What Can Be Done Today
Jul 23, 2009
Procrastination can throw a spanner in any well-intentioned goal plan as well as providing an effective checklist that can help to overcome procrastinating. Before an effective solution can be implemented it is imperative to have greater awareness surrounding procrastination.
Procrastination is no friend, but it is a foe and it is also one of the reasons why many professional and personal goals never get off the ground. Some dreams and goals will always remain just that – dreams, even though the intention may well be authentic. However when it comes to executing goals, some form of obstacle will delay the whole process and the situation is further exacerbated by life events taking place in the background.
Procrastination also delays the inevitable which is to face up to any limiting beliefs and obstacles which may be present. This alone can fill people with great dread especially if they look upon obstacles with a reactive mindset. It is always easier to attempt to cover up any feelings of fear and insecurities by utilising procrastination tactics to delay the whole process thus buying more time.
This means goals will be pushed back further each and every time and if this continues the goals may never come to fruition because one set of doubts and fear will be replaced by another. Greater awareness surrounding obstacles which delay goals actualisation leads to greater empowerment because it enables the individual to take the necessary steps to avoid the pitfalls of procrastination.
Reasons Why People Procrastinate
The list is endless but here are a few reasons why some people procrastinate when it comes to goal actualisation:
- Getting too comfortable and staying within the comfort zones
- Lack of time
- Lack of planning
- Feelings of being overwhelmed as a result of a lack of prioritisation
- Being sidetracked by activities such as television, radio, internet and social networking sites
- Fear of success/failure
- Limiting beliefs
- Lack of focus
- Low commitment levels to follow through from conception to completion
- Lack of confidence
- Reactive mindset
- Lack of self esteem
- Tomorrow is another day
Most people are aware that days can quickly turn into weeks and weeks into months and another year is completed yet no significant progress has been made with the goals. Consequently, procrastination prevents the individual from leading his/her best life!
Great Advice from the Sage of Omaha
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and philanthropist has great advice to share with people regarding goals as he says in the following quote. “It’s never a good idea to wait to do anything; given the uncertainty of life, just get going.”
They don’t call him the sage for nothing and what Buffett says is pretty simple and straightforward – don’t delay!
This advice is further reiterated by Bill Bartmann who says: “The secret of success is elegantly simple just like the law of gravity. This is how the world works. You need to be willing to take risks. You don’t because you are afraid of failure; you are worried what people will think and that’s because of low self esteem. To succeed you have to raise you self esteem.”
Bartmann raises an interesting point about low self esteem because this is one of the top reasons which leads to procrastination; combine the two together and a lethal cocktail is created ensuring dreams and goals never get off the ground.
How to Break the Procrastination Trap?
Despite it being a lot easier to fall into the procrastination trap because comfort zones provide a false sense of security, it is also relatively easy to break the procrastination habit. However it does require commitment and the desire to achieve the end results but desiring goals is one thing and executing an action plan is another.
Consider the following tips to overcome procrastination:
- Identify and write a list of the goals which need to be actualised
- Think of the reasons why these goals have not been actualised to date
- Prioritise the list in terms of importance and immediacy
- Work with the list and add a timeframe to each goal
- Create an action plan specifically making a note of the activities which are needed for the goals to become a reality
Many fail to appreciate the factors concerning procrastination and without this awareness, it is very challenging to articulate an effective action plan which will lead to successful goal actualisation. Without determination and the commitment to follow through, the plan will be not be successful as a result of the “stop, start” journey. Why is this so? Procrastination acts as an obstacle which takes effect immediately hampering any attempts to move forward. Therefore it makes more sense to have greater awareness around procrastinating which will lead to greater chances of formulating an effective goal plans
Readers may also enjoy articles on aiming higher which leads to bigger and better goals and having a clear focus as well as innovative thinking.
Resources:
- Fortune Magazine
- Keith Ferrazzi. Who’s Got Your Back. Broadway Books, New York, 2009.
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