Are you a fan of dilly-dallying?

On a daily basis, many of us would be facing some form of procrastination.

By Melissa Chan 

On a daily basis, many of us would be facing some form of procrastination. However, do you ever wonder why we procrastinate? There are few factors which lead us to delay on completing our tasks, regardless the urgency.

1)Lack of proper structure or guidelines
It is really common that many organizations do not have a proper structure or SOP which leads employees to be procrastinators. Especially for new employees, if they were to take over a role and task from their predecessor, a formal hand-over should be conducted together with some training.

2)Distractions or temptations
Half way through our task, we tend to rely on the internet for info, facts, etc. However, many times the search link will direct us to major social media sites as second option. As we happily scroll down the content, we will end up doing something else without realising it.

Another distraction which many of us falls into, is our mobile phone. Our phones are updated with the current apps which are so interesting, fun and communicating with one another is so easy. But, it will further increase our dilly-dally behavior.

3)Priorities
On a daily basis, we have to complete many tasks. Everything’s urgent, however, which should we concentrate on first? Make time to prepare a do to list and highlight those which are critical. This will enable us to manage our time and how much time is needed to complete a certain task. With a proper guideline, we won’t be straying or spending time on necessary tasks which are not productive.

4)Our mindset
Like it or not, our mind is a powerful tool. If we carried a negative mindset, our behavior will show, such as:

• -It’s not my job.
• -Why should I do it?
• -What are the benefits for me?
• -It won’t hurt to wait for another day or hour?
• -Later, I’m busy now.

These few classic examples are the reasons behind our laid back behavior. We will delay most of our tasks regardless if it’s personal or our career.

5)Interest
Its human nature as we tend to complete our favourite task easily, efficiently and effectively. As for those tasks which are not our interest, we will sit on it for a long time. Reasons could be we are still researching for stronger facts, further details, options, etc. We are guilty for prolonging or delaying its completion.

Of course, there are more reasons on why we procrastinate. Knowing where our limit is important so we won’t fall deeper in to the vortex. Being a serial procrastinator is extremely bad for both our personal and career reputation.

As we further delay a task, other tasks start to piled up and we will end up stress, anxious and depressed. This too, will lead us to:

• -Dislike our job.
• -Not getting the promotion which was we wanted.
• -Lacking of personal time with friends and family.
• -Not achieving your goals and dreams.
• -Lose self-confidence as the tasks are not completed on time.
• -Feeling too comfortable to move from our comfort zone.
• -Not progressing.

We feel guilty about the dilly-dallying, yet we STILL procrastinate. Set your own timeline so things can be completed soonest possible. As the saying goes, work smart, not work hard.

Melissa Chan is the editor for LisAffair.com, an entrepreneur and lifestyles news.