Procrastination And Poor Performance

If you're one of those people who constantly procrastinates you'll find it will have an adverse effect in your life.

Mary's Story
Mary runs her own publishing company employing 5 people. She is married with two teenagers.

When I first met Mary she told me how stressed out she was trying to juggle work and home effectively.

Her business although surviving (just) could have achieved major growth except for one major factor… Mary. She was very disorganised and ran her business that way. She was also a classic procrastinator.

Mary was always complaining about the pressures of running her business and having a life. I suggested to her that by having personal coaching she would dramatically improve her situation…guaranteed, providing she actioned the ideas, insights and solutions she would gain through the process.

She's A 'Gunna'
Mary was a 'gunna'. She was 'gunna' do this and 'gunna' do that. Unfortunately all she can and still does do is talk about it. She won't make a decision. Money wasn't the issue, after all she had invested thousands of dollars attending an American guru's week long "life changing" bootcamp. She thought that would be her "magic lifechanging pill". Unfortunately Mary did not action what she had learned. She got caught up in her chaotic life immediately on her return.

It's interesting to note that many people believe that the more they spend on some of these seminars, the better the results will be.

What they forget to factor into the equation is themselves.

The Latest Crisis
I have spoken with her a few times and suggested the best course of action to take and she always responds with "not right now, I have this to do and that to do (and everything else to do)". Mary always procrastinates and says to call her back in a few weeks' time when the current major crisis should be over.

One month her database was completely wiped out. It had mistakenly been deleted by a temporary assistant she had hired. Of course there was no back up. It took many hours to reproduce it.

Mary had to hire an extra person for the next month to establish a new database. In real terms this latest crisis cost her business thousands of dollars in lost productivity, not to mention the effect it had on her stress levels.

People often only think of having a back up when something goes wrong. They don't worry about their own business and systems. As long as they are 'busy', who needs to 'waste time' on systems?

Specialist skills are required and they are not just acquired by experience. Mary needs to equip herself with some basic life skills so she can live and work effectively. She has to be able to put those skills into action!

At the rate she's going, she won't be living long enough to enjoy the years of hard work she has contributed to her business.

It's been a couple of years since we first spoke and I'd forgotten all about Mary until I bumped into one of her former employees who had stayed with her for six months. Jan told me it was extremely stressful and unrewarding working for Mary. She could never complete her work as her duties were always changing. Mary made promises to clients which she would often break and Jan, being her personal assistant was the person the clients would always communicate with to make sure the work was done on time. She was also the key person who kept the peace with the rest of the staff.

Jan had given Mary one month's notice when she handed in her resignation, so Mary had plenty of time to find a replacement.

When Jan left, Mary still hadn't found a substitute as she had again procrastinated, leaving it to the week before Jan's exit to advertise the position. Of course she did all the recruiting herself,advertised in the local paper and had 50 replies. No doubt she wasted the next month interviewing suitable applicants.

Stop Procrastinating and Take Action
When is the right time to take action? Is it at Christmas, the new year, the beginning of the financial year, when you've got nothing else to do, when your spouse leaves you, when your business is on its last legs, when the kids finally go to school, when the boss leaves or when you become so sick from the stress of your life that you cannot get out of bed?

The Final Word
Henry Ford said "The hardest work known to man is thinking". I say "the second hardest work known to man is taking action".

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's No. 1 Productivity Coach.  She's also a dynamic presenter and a leading business and life coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!"

To subscribe to her free ezine visit www.office-organiser.com.au

This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and all links. For further information please contact Lorraine Pirihi.