The formula to rationalize what you postpone contains one part of self-deception or disappointment, two parts of escapism, a dose of guilt, and a dose of immobilization. When was the last time you postponed something you had to do?
I invite you to observe the main reasons that lead to the practice of postponing, as well as some of the solutions that can be applied.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explained it very well in his famous book, Your Erroneous Zones: “It is not necessary to shed a single drop of sweat to postpone doing anything”, in other words, it is much easier not to do than to do. Of course, this does not mean that it is less painful or that it does not have negative consequences.
The beginning of the year regularly evidences the behavior of postponement. As the end of the year approaches, we begin to receive many advertisements that want to motivate us to buy agendas and specialized notebooks that will help us achieve our projects the following year. Have you bought any of these? And have you used them?
Postponing what we know we should not have in our lives is the beginning of a good strategy. For example, postponing going to the malls is ideal, if you want to avoid wasting money making unnecessary and impulsive purchases. Moreover, I would say that the best thing is to completely cancel this nonsense activity: visiting shopping centers. Of course, some people will refute this idea because they have other reasons for going to the malls.
Now, when it comes to doing what needs to be done, this is where postponing is really the challenge. In other words, what is the purpose of knowing what to do, if it is not done? What good is making great decisions if you do not have the discipline to execute them?
We have all had reasons to postpone. In one way or another, we have been through this experience. If you know of any other reason that is not on this list, you can add it in the comments, so we all learn more. Some of the reasons that we know that lead to postponement is:
- Avoid unexpected situations that can be unpleasant,
- Delay change and thus the risk it entails,
- Avoid responsibility and commitment,
- Play the role of a critic over those who act,
- Facilitate blaming others for mistakes to avoid failure,
- Feed the feeling of security that dreams give you if you stay in them,
- Attract the sympathy of those who feel sorry for you,
- Justify poor time management and mediocre performance,
- Manipulate others to do what has not been done,
- Ensure avoiding success and the commitment that it requires.
In general, regretting, waiting for others to act, and believing that things happen by themselves, is evidence that the focus is on how to justify the postponing.
What can we do to avoid putting off what needs to be done?
- Recognize that postponing is affecting your life and that it is eliminating the possibility of success.
- Avoiding the illusion of the future based on dreams or unreal situations. Stay away from reasoning/using expressions such as: Maybe that will happen; I hope someone takes care of that; let us wait to see what happens, etc.
- Make the decision to commit to yourself and your goals, based on your purpose and vision of your life and what you want to achieve with it.
- Face your fears and decide to act today, focusing on your priorities.
- Prepare for attacks and criticism. Then, be willing to put them aside and guard your focus on your vision.
- Use your mind to support, motivate, inspire, and not sabotage your next step.
- Divide tasks into small steps; start small but get started.
- If this is a team project, meet with the team members to prepare the new strategy and get started today.
- Make a contract with yourself, put it in writing, and sign it. If necessary and you need more commitment, do it with your team or those who benefit from your actions.
As we can see, postponing is one of the greatest obstacles to productivity. If we do not make an effort to control it, it can control our lives and cancel out the chances of living a meaningful and successful life.
If you need support in the process of controlling delaying what you should do, do not hesitate to contact us, our Executive Coaching program can help you to have better results immediately.
Question: How can you avoid postponing?