Procrastination: The Thief of More than Time!
Claude Oppenheim, Ph.D., President
"Procrastination is the Thief of Time", goes the well known saying. When one procrastinates, puts off doing that which should be done, one ends up spending more time than if one had done what it necessary right away.
However, often it is more than time that one loses through delaying. Efficiency is another cost. That pile of papers mounting on one's desk that slows one down as one rummages through it for the document one needs. Anxiety is a cost. One worries about what one might have forgotten, lying buried under the mess. The loss of reputation and credibility is a huge cost of delayed response to queries, or lateness in meeting deadlines. The quality of one's work suffers when, having procrastinated, one rushes through a project, doing it badly as a result. Of course, money too can be a cost of procrastination, from late charges on bills, to lost opportunities for investment.
Leaders will find that when procrastinating about getting involved in a problems, others may fill the vacuum and take over. While at times that may be a good thing, more often than not, one regrets not having nipped a problem in the bud, or ensured a necessary change in direction, before too much damage was done.
No doubt we all have our stories of the many problems we have caused ourselves and others when we have allowed the habit of procrastination to prevent us from efficiently dealing with what we have to do. Leaders usually do their employees and their organizations a favour when they are intolerant of missed deadlines. And educators are helping their students by insisting that they develop the habit of timeliness.
Oppenheim Education and Management Consulting offers consulting and training on governance, leadership, administration, and program and performance evaluation. |