positive procrastination
Most of us think about ‘procrastination’ in negative terms. We see it as an indication of laziness or being unfocused. But procrastination only infers a lack of immediate action. This can sometimes be a ‘good’ thing depending on circumstances. I’ll share with you my personal approach to positive procrastination and its essential place in effective time management.
The cost of constant contact
These days, we have multiple options available to us regarding how we communicate with each other. There are phone calls, SMS, voice messages, virtual meetings and emails. One of the biggest disadvantages of this is the expectation that we should be available 24/7. But the assumption that every email or SMS must be replied to within minutes causes unnecessary stress for the sender and receiver. This is further exasperated when needs and timelines are not clearly stated by the sender, leaving the receiver no option but to guess about missing information. The real cost of this vagueness is ongoing frustration which affects our communication - and the constant interruptions make it difficult to manage our time effectively.
Clear communication matters… a lot
Having just celebrated 31 years in business, I have developed communication strategies which are essential to my time management and productivity. Consider how these might work for your business:
● If the conversation topic changes during an exchange of emails, change the subject line of your reply to reflect the new direction. This will help keep the communication relevant and also make it easy to track the thread later.
● If you’re asking for something to be done, give an expectation of time and day… Contrary to popular vernacular, ‘ASAP’ doesn’t qualify.
● When trying to organise a meeting, rather than sending multiple emails back-and-forth, share a link to your calendar booking system or pick up the phone.
● Never hit the ‘send’ button without re-reading your email - and wait until the next day whenever possible.
● Stick with one subject per message, especially if it’s SMS. Otherwise, it can get confusing when someone addresses one point but not another.
● Use SMS as a last resort for communication, and, even then, only for light touches or confirmation of meetings.
When you use the above techniques, communication becomes more concise and clearer. And with clarity comes less time wastage. For example, a vague message of “Hi John, this is Sam. I need to discuss something with you ASAP” doesn’t give me any indication of the topic or a timeline to work towards. A more useful message would be, “Hi John, this is Sam. I’m considering whether our review process should be every year or every two years. I need to make a decision by 9am Friday. Could you please call me before noon on Thursday to discuss?” In this instance, I know what information to have at hand when returning the call. I also know their expectation of timing which I can confirm or renegotiate, giving them as much notice as possible.
Use positive procrastination
Positive procrastination is the art of taking a moment to let a situation breathe. It’s especially useful when the sender of a message is caught up in high emotions. If it’s a personal issue or emergency, then - of course - pick up the phone and address it. But sometimes people pour their confusion, internal organisational disagreements, or deadline pressures – things you can’t really help them with – onto your lap. Often, they’ll find the answer themselves if you just give them the space to express themselves and continue working through it on their own. Positive procrastination also allows us to think through a situation more thoroughly than an immediate reply allows. Is there more research needed? What is a better approach to the problem? How can this project move to the next stage?
This isn’t about being cold-hearted or detached. It’s actually about teaching others how to treat us and respect our boundaries. This brings to mind a favourite quote by Bob Carter, “Poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine.” If you’re constantly exposed to unreasonable demands, then you need to take responsibility and actively recalibrate people's expectations of you.
So try some ‘positive procrastination’ next time. And see what happens.