Procrastination Can Be Your Friend
I sometimes tell my clients 
something that raises a few eyebrows: procrastination can actually be a good thing. In fact, I encourage
clients to procrastinate as much as they possibly can.
First, let me explain when procrastination obviously doesn’t work. If
you do not have solid personal systems for calendaring and dealing with
the flow of information into your life, then when you procrastinate you
are depending on your mind to remind you of when it is time to do
things. This is a problem because your mind will remind you of things
at inappropriate times and inappropriate
places. You will miss appointments and miss responsibilities. For those
who do not have solid personal systems, procrastination is a very, very
bad idea.
However, for those who have a solid
calendaring system and the accountability to follow through on that
schedule, procrastination is a very valuable and necessary tool. The
person who doesn’t procrastinate or schedule low priorities into the
distant future ends up running headlong into what we call the Truth of
Time.
The Truth of Time says that there are only 24 hours
in a day. If you do not procrastinate low priority items by scheduling
them into the future, you will always be short on time and find
yourself stressed out at the end of every day wondering if you really
accomplished anything at all.
You must have three things in place in order for procrastination to be your ally:
- A calendar that you have with you at all times
– Never commit to doing something without scheduling it into your
calendar. The calendar is your budget for time, and when your time is
gone, it’s gone. Double scheduling is not an option. You must always
have your calendar on hand, because it shows you how much time you have
available. The calendar, in fact, forces appropriate procrastination
because it helps you be realistic with how much time you really have.
One final note: always leave spaces between appointments for the
unexpected. - A time-based task list that you have with you most of the time
– If the calendar is rigid, then the task list is fluid. Only put items
that are brief and not time sensitive in your task list. Task list
items must be brief, because if they are lengthy to complete, you’ll
never find the time for them. Task list items also must not be
time-sensitive, since you are going to be a bit flexible as to when you
complete them. While tasks that go to the task list should be assigned
an estimated “do date”, if you don’t do them on the date specified,
it’s okay. (If it wouldn’t be okay to do it later, then it belongs on
the Calendar, not the task list!) - A “Perhaps List” that you review periodically
- David Allen calls this his “Someday, Maybe” list. Whatever you call
it, this is the place where the tasks and ideas you haven’t yet
committed to do should go. To make the Perhaps List work, you must
schedule an appointment for yourself in your calendar that tells you to
check the list on a consistent basis. I check mine once a month. I
quickly scan through the list I’ve created in Microsoft Outlook and
look for any of the items that I’m ready to pick up and take action on
at this time. Usually, I pick up very few new tasks, if any. The
Perhaps List is a great way for me to say no to myself and keep focused
on the priorities at hand.
