May I make a suggestion? Perhaps, the better way to go about this is to "rename" procrastination as the author has done. To borrow a phrase: "Much is in a name."
We are preconditioned to dislike certain things and, obviously, to prefer others. In the case of procrastination, it carries negative connotations which have been programmed into us. We quiver at the mere mention if it, right?
First lets be honest - it happens. Sometimes for good reason, sometimes not. So given that, lets deflect it by giving it a name that is at least neutral, and which may allows us to see it a positive. I suggest "re-routing," as our new name. Simple and not dripping in "catch-phrase" goo.
So, are there times when Re-Routing is a good thing? Sure.
- When it is time. You need to sleep eat and refresh yourself. "Burning the candle at both ends" has been considered bad for ages - for good reason. Me, I like naps and try to inject them when I feel they are needed.
- Another good time to re-route is when YOU have dropped the ball. Being unprepared or having left things undone is a time to fall back regroup. It does little good to push forwad building a bridge, if you haven't cut the wood yet.
- "Knowing your deal," as Deaver Brown says, can lead to skillful Re-Routing. If your customer isnt going to be in or is unavailable due to some other committment and you know this, is there any point in sticking to some slavish schedule, simply because you dont want to procrasitnate?
In all of these, the true core of beating procrastination is good management - of yourself, of the time you have and the resources available. When I was in the NAVY, we had a rule we lived by. You heard it all time. It's catchy and it works. It was called the "5P Pricnciple":
Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
This says that simply managing ourselves and our affairs with good planning goes the furthest towards eliminating procrastination. Much of the angst we endure over putting things off is based in the fact that we haven't planned well. Essentially, we've failed to do the right things we should have done, in the right time. Most busy-ness and rush - and the resultant need to put something off 'til later - is the result of failing to do things when we should have done them.
Planning and managing well goes a long way towards elimintaing that. It also allows us a unique and benficialthe freedom... we can take that dreaded word "procrastination" out of our personal usage. If we adopt planning well and managing ourselves as key parts of our overall game plan, then, we can defang procrastination and actually embrace "Re-Routing" fully for the benefits that it truly provides.
Now, I think I would like a nap.
Have a Great Day.
(C) DDH, 2008
If you’re not working every minute of every day, you’re procrastinating, right? And procrastinating is bad, right? Not necessarily. According to Lifehack.org, a little “strategic postponement” can be a good thing. For example:
