There are two types of people in this world; people that admit to procrastinating and people that don’t admit to procrastinating. Everyone in the world procrastinates at some point. Some of us procrastinate more than others. Some of us admit to procrastinating more than others – but we will procrastinate in some ways.
For some people it could be pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock. Other people put off that trip to the dentist. Some people will avoid doing their accounts. Other people may put off their marketing.
There are lots of things that people procrastinate about – and often it will be the things that we hate or dislike doing that we will put off.
While we may do them eventually, the question is often – what will make us do them!
People have lots of things they put off, and these are often down to different reasons, but these reasons will often boil down to 5 common roots;
- Fear – of getting it wrong, fear of failure, fear of judgement, etc.
- Perfectionism – they want to get it just right
- Difficulty Starting – it’s a hard task, so people do the easier ones first
- Lacking Motivation – it may not be exciting enough to motivate them into getting it done
- Distractions – there is too much other stuff going on, and the task isn’t attention-grabbing enough
However it is important to note that procrastination is actually keeping you from reaching your potential.
If you’d like to stop yourself from procrastinating then ask yourself two questions;
- If I’m going to have to do it eventually, then what am I hoping to achieve by putting it off?
- Is what I am putting off only affecting me, or will it affect / involve others too?
Answering these questions honestly will help you revaluate what you are doing and encourage or motivate you to get that task done. If you realise you are wasting time and holding yourself back by not getting the task done you’ll realise that you just need to get on with it.
If you are letting others down by not getting the task done then it will encourage you to do it, because nobody likes to feel like they are letting others down.
Procrastination, just like any bad habit, will be hard to break. But just like everything in life, practice makes perfect and you should never give up trying.
If it is your marketing plan that you are procrastinating about then give us a call. Instead of leaving it on your to-do list, with an aim to get it done each week, or month, outsource it to the marketing professionals.
http://littlemc.development-dashboard.co.uk/services/marketing-strategy/
