Learning to Stop Procrastinating on the Job
Ways to Increase Productivity and Meet Deadlines
Aug 2, 2009
Procrastination is the enemy of productivity. The simple act of putting off work can lead to missed deadlines and increased stress, and may endanger one’s job position. The following few simple steps can help any procrastinator become a more efficient and productive worker.
Commit to a Schedule to Deter Procrastination
The worker who starts his or her day without setting times for tasks might not make much progress on them. It is easy to procrastinate if one continues to tell him or herself, “Well, I can just do that later.”
One of the simplest means to increase productivity involves planning a schedule for the day ahead. The itinerary does not have to be excessively detailed; rather, it should include a brief description of the task and the time when one begins it. For example, someone working on a proposal could write, “Work on the first 500 words of the first draft at 4:00 p.m.”
Having a schedule on paper alone won’t cause one to stop procrastinating; there is also the need to follow it. Nevertheless, knowing and timing one’s tasks for the days ahead is a good first step to increasing productivity.
Keeping Tasks Small may Increase Productivity
The more difficult a work session may seem, the less motivated one might be to begin work on it. Dividing long projects into smaller work sessions is one helpful step in overcoming procrastination.
Suppose that one has a thousand-word article on a board hearing due in two days. If the writer plans to write the whole story in one sitting, it is likely that he or she will lack motivation to begin working. However, if he or she decides to write the lead and captions in one session, do the body of the story in the next and edit in one more, it becomes easier to start writing; the journalist needs only do a third of the work in one sitting.
Those who begin a small portion of a task may find themselves continuing on to later parts in the same session so as to decrease the workload to come.
Try Planning by Time, not by Amount
By dividing tasks into sets of time, workers know exactly how much of their schedule they will spend on a certain project. This knowledge can help them stop procrastinating, as their tasks will seem less ominous once divided into predetermined blocks of time. The emphasis is not on the amount of work, which the worker may not have control over, but on the amount of time.
For example, instead of telling oneself to enter in 200 rows of data, a worker can plan to supplement his or her spreadsheet for two hours. The emphasis on time allows him to plan his day without dreading the amount of time it might take. Likewise, a student procrastinating on her studies can resolve to study a textbook for an hour instead of reading until he or she gets to the next chapter. She may decide to continue on once the two hours are up, realizing that the task was easier than she thought.
These steps may not increase productivity for everyone, but those who make schedules and limit the size and duration of tasks may find themselves procrastinating less and working more.
Resources for Composition
Writers trying to limit their procrastination may also wish to read about writing a good rough draft and reducing stress over writing.
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