Handling Procrastination

"TIME CANNOT BE 'MANAGED.' THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF TIME MANAGEMENT IS A BIT OBSCURE. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN BE MANAGED IS YOUR ACTIVITIES WITHIN THAT TIME."

I am quite confident I have never had an original idea in my entire life. What I have done, however, is create new ways of expressing old ideas. In this respect, I now invite you to approach, with a new perspective, the way you manage your activities.

Need-to, Ought-to, Can-do

Say it a few times to yourself: "Need-to, Ought-to, Can-do." Tongue-twisting aside, it represents three categories, within which falls everything that you are presently capable of. (Any activity that you are not presently capable of would perhaps fall into a forth category of "Can't-do," and yet I would submit that if you are spending much time considering what you cannot do, you are not only mismanaging your time-you're throwing it away!)

Within the Need-to category would be everything that must be done in a given day or week, the absence of which would lead to a significant negative result. Showing up to work, feeding the dog, bathing-these fall clearly within this category. The next category, Ought-to, includes all activities that, if completed, would likely create a positive overall result. Returning phone calls on time, getting adequate sleep, and keeping your car maintained are such examples. Finally, the Can-do category represents everything else (again excluding what is beyond your present capacity). Activities within this category have either been previously judged as not worth doing, or have yet to be judged at all. In other words, you have not, as of yet, determined it reasonable to place such an activity within the Ought-to or Need-to categories.

An example may help illustrate the concept: Suppose I've just discovered that my friend is looking for a place to stay for the week while he's in town. I do live in a home, so this prospective activity is a Can-do, simply because it exists as a possibility. He then tells me that he is bringing several expensive bottles of wine as gifts for whomever he ends up staying with. Assuming I like wine, and all else being equal, this activity is now an Ought-to. At some point before he arrives in town, I confirm with him that I would like him to stay for the week. The event is now a Need-to; as to back out of the arrangement would cause a loss of friendship.

Feel free to use your own examples-you'll find that everything possible does, in fact, meet one of these three criteria. This thereby sets a foundation for the prioritization of your daily and weekly activities. And yet, this article is on the topic of procrastination, prioritization's nasty cousin, so we're not done yet.

Focusing In

The Need-to's must, without question, be completed. These have never really been a problem-there's simply no room to procrastinate. At the other end, the Can-do's are not relevant here because you can only procrastinate what has been judged as worth doing. What we are left with, therefore, are the Ought-to's. And you'll find quite consistently that the Ought-to's are giving you all of your problems when it comes to putting things off. These are the things that you know you should do, and yet, they often do not have a strict deadline, nor would failing to complete them lead to any immediate or significant detriment. What is noteworthy, however, is that over time, their combined significance does indeed lead to great significance. In the end, the direction of that significance (positive or negative) all rests on your ability to handle them timely and effectively.

A Solution

Detailed prioritization is vital--If you are unwilling to accept that, you must not truly want to improve. Step #1 is to schedule your Need-to's-they are almost always time sensitive. Step #2 is to address your Ought-to's, and they will fall within one of three sub-categories:

(a) Do Now!

(b) Do Later, strategically!

(c) Eliminate!

Ought-to's should always be done immediately, unless doing so at a later time would be strategically more valuable and more efficient, or unless the activity has been inaccurately defined as an Ought-to in the first place. Frequently, we categorize activities as Ought-to's for reasons that do not logically support the claim. When you have isolated instances where your rationale was incorrect, don't belabor the issue; just eliminate the task from your consideration! Of those that are rationally based, it is worth repeating that the only reason you choose to complete an activity at a later date is because it makes more sense to do it at that time than to do it now. Perhaps the task has a prerequisite that needs to be addressed first. In any case, if you cannot find reasonable grounds for doing it later, you should do it now or not at all.

Such a policy is uncomfortable at first. It requires judgment, which a procrastinating mind loathes. And while the very nature of procrastinating is to avoid judgment at all cost, if you will apply this model to your daily activities, you will find that judgment is actually quite liberating, and that prioritization of your activities will shift from a challenge to second-nature.

© 2004 Matthew S. Clement, All rights reserved

Matthew S. Clement is a financial planner and investment advisor representative with Financial Network Investment Corporation, member SIPC. He provides holistic wealth management and retirement planning to individuals and businesses. He can be reached in New York at (845) 942-8578, or by email: ClementM@FinancialNetwork.com.

---

Time is Money?

Not 1 in 10 people can tell you where money... Read More

How To Pack 48 Hours Into Your Day

Too much to do, too little time, constant stress. Most... Read More

If Only Your Brain Was the Size Of That Of an Ant You Could Easily Implement Habits

A year and a half ago I was introduced to... Read More

Let Someone Else Do It

When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the... Read More

Creating A Not-To-Do List

When I sit down with a client to work on... Read More

The Power of 90 Seconds

You can use the Power of 90 Seconds to transform... Read More

Seven Ways to Say, No!

A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More

How to Conquer the Five Major Time Wasters?

* spreading yourself too thinTaking on too many things at... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Manage Yourself - Time Wise

"Time management" is a myth. Time ticks by, whether you... Read More

Spend Less Time at Work and Get More Done

Sounds too good to be true?It really isn't!In fact, studies... Read More

Achieve More With Less Through Proper Planning

One question a lot of people ask me recently is:... Read More

Everythings Blurry Except For You

Riding the subway home yesterday, my typically silent car was... Read More

Time Management: Which Advice to Follow?

There are so many books on Time Management published every... Read More

Time Management Wasters

I am an ordinary man - A middle class high... Read More

Delegate or Drown

Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are... Read More

Time Management Mastery

From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More

Keeping Time

What keeping time really means is...being on time!You know, there... Read More

9 Proven Principles for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind

Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase... Read More

Peace Of Mind At The Workplace

Work brings together people of different characters and behavior, and... Read More

How to Double Your Accomplishment Level

Here's a smart system for doubling or tripling your daily... Read More

Time Management: Setting up your Schedule for Success

Would you describe yourself as extremely busy? Do you often... Read More

How Are You Viewing Your Time?

In working with and coaching people across the country, one... Read More

The Key to High Productivity is Energy Management

One of the issues most often raised by my clients... Read More

Put Yourself First

Are you too busy to put yourself first? If a... Read More

5 Days to A Simpler Life!

Of all the Attraction Principles, the most popular class I... Read More

Time Management - How To Get More Done In A Day?

Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that... Read More

Winning The Fight Between You And The Clock

"Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the... Read More

Use Your Time Wisely!

When I was small, I have never considered the importance... Read More

21 Questions To Assess Your Readiness For Time Management

How many of us are guilty of "Putting the cart... Read More

Time Management is Life Management

Many of the clients I work with in success coaching... Read More

Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

If you are like most moms I know you think... Read More

House Cleaning - Three Ways To Finding The Time

It's always a challenge finding time to clean my house.... Read More

Time Management: How To Get More Done

If you can regularly ask yourself "Am I regularly and... Read More