In the words of Napoleon Hill, “Procrastination
is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have
been done the day before yesterday.”
Procrastination is a self-sabotaging behavior. It is one
such behavioral blind spot that can limit or sabotage your career. You could be
at the risk of career stagnation with such self-limiting attitude.
But what exactly is procrastination?
To understand, close your eyes and think of an action you
have been trying to avoid. Now ask yourself the reasons for the delaying
tactics.
Do you not want to step out of your comfort zone? Are you
trying to avoid it because you aren’t too confident to go ahead with it? Or are
you looking for perfection? Or perhaps you have been overcome by lethargy and
self-indulging behavior.
The reasons why you have been putting off things are
aplenty. Let’s see how such behavior can affect your career.
Procrastination and
Career: Do They Go Together?
If you are a chronic procrastinator, who delays challenging
chores for the last minute, you are making tasks even more complicated for
yourself. Rushing with the piled-up tasks at the last minute, missing out on deadlines,
and making wrong work submissions are just a few consequences.
Additionally, a rushed-up job isn’t the quality of work a
client would want to receive from you. It could upset clients and superiors,
affect your work performance and promotions, and make your career stagnant.
If you’ve got into the habit of delaying action, deferring
projects, and disrespecting timelines, achieving your career goals will be an
uphill task.
Don’t you think it’s time to change your habits and become
little more self-disciplined?
You could do well by setting self-imposed deadlines. When
you are self disciplined, you are more likely to stick to your deadlines
religiously.
Procrastination is
Equal to Poor Work Habits
When you start deferring projects because you don’t want to
do them now or find them too boring to work on, you may find yourself caught in
a maze of delaying tactics. Such mindless form of escape poses a grave threat
to your on-job continuation and growth.
As a result, you tend to become more and more inclined
toward unplanned execution, dilly dallying, and slack performance, which could
easily upset superiors.
An unhappy employer could see your procrastinating behavior
as a grave threat to their business productivity and reputation.
So how do you deal with it?
Do everything you can to scare yourself into action and
overcome self-destroying habits.
Procrastination
Affects Decision Making
Frequent procrastination may put you in a tight corner and
force you to compromise on time management. As a result of recurring delay, you
may often have to make a decision without giving it proper consideration or
spending time analyzing the outcome. Such a hasty decision may prove to be a
gross mistake, which could affect your reputation.
In the words of Mason Cooley, “Procrastination
makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”
Bottom Line
We have all indulged in delaying tactics sometime in our
lives despite knowing that it steals precious time and causes immense stress
buildup.
Overcoming procrastination starts with recognizing that you
are indulging in delaying tactics. Ask yourself, “Who am I hurting by not doing
it now and what is such attitude costing me?” Trust yourself and come out of
your comfort zone before the habit starts affecting your career growth and
potential.
After all, the time to do it is now!
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