Three Major Time Wasters and How to Overcome Them

By Karen Susman

Don’t delay confronting the primary time waster – procrastination. Procrastination is caused by and leads to:

• Indecision: People procrastinate because they can’t decide what to do. Putting off a decision leads to living by default. You can’t decide whether to fly to New York on Tuesday or Wednesday. By the time you decide, all the Tuesday seats are filled, so you have no choice but to fly on Wednesday – no matter what the fare.
  
  
• Perfectionism: Fear of not doing something 100% leads to not doing something at all. Since you have no experience surviving a 50% job, or a 99% job, you don’t realize that you will survive imperfection. You don’t know when good enough is good enough. Thus, you don’t even take calculated risks. You don’t do things just for the fun of it. No Karaoke for you, my friend.
  
  
• Clutter: When you put off putting things away where they belong, you end up with clutter. The sight of clutter build-up is enough to overwhelm you and keep you from attacking your messes.
  
  
• Self-criticism: Procrastinators are great self-loathers. The mental tape that says, “You never get anything done. You are always putting things off. You’re always late, etc.” is on a continuous loop. There is a payoff in this self-criticism. It gives you permission to procrastinate. After all, that’s just the way you are.
  
  
• “I just had that…in my hand a second ago.” Hours, days, and weeks are lost searching for the cheque you put down on the ironing board when you heard the dryer go off on your way to the bank. Since you haven’t ironed in months, the cheque is buried under a tower of towels. You get a great adrenaline rush as you tear the house apart searching. During your search you uncover the overdue library books and your unpaid phone bill. On your way to the library, you remind yourself to stop for gas after you pay your phone bill with the cheque you left somewhere. And, the beat goes on.
  
  
• CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome): Your home, your office, and your car reflect who you are. When you put off taking care of these areas, you can’t allow anyone to see who you really are. You become isolated. When you’re isolated, who cares about the underwear hanging from the swag lamp? Who cares about the twisted, dead fichus next to your filing cabinet? Who cares that your new car smell has been replaced by Eau de French Fry?
  

Secondly, if you don’t feel the tension or sense of immediacy to take action, you may not. Each person has his own immediacy level that triggers high gear. If you must wait until the last minute to get motivated, you are tempting life to throw you emergencies that eat up your margin. Instead, set a false, earlier deadline for yourself. Trick yourself into completing tasks early.

Third, the infrequent use of the word, “No” wastes time. You don’t have to make excuses for saying “no.” If you want to soften the blow you imagine you’re giving the requester, thank him for asking, suggest another person for the job, or suggest a smaller commitment for yourself. For instance, the chair of the events’ committee asks you to head the four-day employee carnival and trade show. Offer to work the 2-4 PM shift at the dunking booth on Friday. You’ve just saved yourself months of time and a carload of antacids. Plus, you’re still a good guy.

You can turn time wasters into blips instead of blockades. Do it now.

Karen Susman is a Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author of 102 Top Dog Networking Secrets. Karen works with organizations that want to maximize performance. Programs include Humour at Work; Balance In Life; Networking Skills; Presentation Skills; and Building Community Involvement. Order new guidebooks on humour, networking, time management, and community involvement by calling 1-888-678-8818 or e-mail Karen@KarenSusman.com.. www.KarenSusman.com. Published in Networking Today, November, 2004