Fixing Procrastination – “Do it now”

I was in an important meeting recently with my mobile phone on silent when a number I recognised rang three times in quick succession without leaving a message. This gave me the feeling this person felt they really needed to speak with me. On the final call, I picked up, to satisfy my curiosity more than anything else.

The person on the other end of the line offered to send me an email instead of hassling me out of the meeting, but in a moment motivated to act now, I wanted to see if I could handle it without having one more email reach my inbox.

The conversation could have gone one of two ways. Either I could have said, “No, let’s discuss it later,” or “Will it take long; perhaps we can discuss it now?” As it happened, I chose the later path, seeking to deal with the hassle (and pain) now rather than put it off.

The benefits of this action weren’t only about addressing the temptation to put it off i.e. procrastinate.

Teamwork

I actually had a very positive and pleasant albeit quick phone conversation that would otherwise have been dealt with over the email system which is a poor communication alternative. It promoted and reinforced a healthy working relationship.

Accountability

An additional benefit is accountability. I wasn’t avoiding or putting off the conversation. I was satisfying the caller’s need to have something addressed right there and then. I was allowing him or her to hold me accountable--this promotes many positive things including trust and respect.

Our time management gets better when we’re proactive enough to get on top of things, so we are then at least able to see the wood for the trees. And there are so many roll-on benefits.

Copyright © 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.