Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Procrastinators, Go-Getters, Mistakes & Time Management

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy" - Wayne Gretzky


FRED ASTAIRE - PUTTING ON THE RITZ
I love people who are positive, get things done and are go-getters. There's another type that I don't like. They irritate me.


They are the kind of people who pick up a pice of paper on their desk, look at it and put it down thinking, "I'll do it later." What a waste of time. Why don't they do it now and get it over with? 


Procrastinators. There's tons of them everywhere. Japan seems to have more than their fair share. These people are always too busy and never seem to get ahead at work.


They are busy because they procrastinate and put too many things off until later.


Most of us are guilty of procrastination at one time or another. The problem is that, it seems that 92% of the people procrastinate constantly. Of those people, at least 80% know that they procrastinate too much, yet they still do it.


That's really a crime. I mean, knowing that you are procrastinating; knowing that the procrastination is bad for you; yet you do it anyway. I think it is also a symptom of manic behavior when someone knowingly does something that will have a negative result, yet they proceed to do it anyway.


Just look at this! This places just looks like it reeks!
Does this photo say, "I'm successful" or "I procrastinate"?


We have to fight off this procrastination that attacks us during the day. It is so easy, when you see that pile of papers that need attention, or that desk that needs to be cleaned to put it off. You think, "I'll get to that later." The problem then becomes when you think, "I'll get to that later" several times in the day. Next thing you know is that your work load keeps piling up and so do your stress levels.


Being stressed out is not a good way to handle in a calm and patient, level-headed manner, important work. 


I suppose that there are two types of people at work; procrastinators and go-getters. I'll bet that they both make mistakes. In fact, considering that the go-getters are out making things happen, I'd wager that they might make more mistakes than the procrastinators. Procrastinators, because they procrastinate are always putting things off or awaiting orders on what to do and what to think. They never get ahead.


The go-getters might make more mistakes, but they make much more happen. With every mistake the Go-getter makes, they learn and grow. The procrastinator puts off this experience any chance they can get.


It seems obvious to me which type of person is more valuable to a company in this day and age. I'll take the go-getter over the procrastinator any day.


"I believe that life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret." - Anthony Robbins 

3 comments:

  1. I was going to post a comment about this, but I figure that I will do it later...

    Hee-Hee

    Poots

    ReplyDelete
  2. The picture of the guy playing games does appear a bit successful. Perhaps even a bit frugal. After all, he's using an older CRT television and hasn't splurged on a newer LCD/HDTV flat screen. Sometimes people can be very productive, and finish a task quickly leaving them with more leisure time than others. We might be looking upon someone who is rather productive yet has such a high time preference he chooses not to clean his room before gaming.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did my mother call you and tell you to write this? That poor guy with the cat: what do you know about him? Maybe he just finished defending his PhD thesis in biotechnology and thought he'd kick back and relax for a few minutes before meeing his accountant and lawyer to establish the company that will manufacture products that utilize his sixteen biotech patents. A few minutes of relaxation. But then Mike in Tokyo busts into his room with a cell phone camera, screaming "clean your room!"

    ReplyDelete

Comments must be succinct & relevant to the story. Comments are checked frequently and abusive, rude or profane comments will be deleted. I’m just one of many bloggers who answer questions online and sometimes for the press. I usually handle questions about Japan, marketing or the economy, so in those areas I’m more likely to make sense and less likely to say something really stupid. If I post something here that you find helpful or interesting, that’s wonderful. This is my personal blog. If you don't like what you have read here then, just like when you go into a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, if you don't like it, there's something at the front that has hinges on it and it is called a "door."