We all do it, we put off that job or task, and choose to do something else instead.
People procrastinate for many different reasons. It could be a job that you don’t want to do, or perhaps you don’t really know how to approach it. Sometimes you think the job is too big to fit into your allotted time, or perhaps you think you will fail, so you do the things you are good at first.
At Pink Spaghetti we meet many people in many roles who have put off tasks for weeks, months, sometimes even longer. That piece of research they don’t know how to start, or the pile of receipts they really aren’t that interested in (although the Tax Man really is!) Perhaps they are trying to set up an e-newsletter but they really don’t know how to approach it. So, all the tasks they are comfortable with get done first, and the same the next day, and so on.
These are people that are brilliant at what they do, energetic and inspiring and running great businesses; yet the tasks they are putting off are things that will grow their business or make their lives easier.
Could this be you?
If you’re a putter-offer, a procrastinator, then Ellen DeGeneres gives a brilliant summary of the dangers of procrastination which may well ring bells with many of you! But unlike Ellen, you can’t turn your procrastination to income, you have to do something about it.
And that something is…DELEGATE!
This isn’t laziness or copping out. It’s playing to your strengths. Pass on the fiddly jobs you’ve been putting off and give them to someone else, while you concentrate on what you’re good at.
Richard Branson speaks often about this subject, explaining that he uses his strengths, and delegates his weaknesses, to produce a stronger team, and a more successful business.
So next time you put off a task, ask yourself why and turn it around to see if outsourcing could be your solution. And if it is…you know who to call!
