myself, telling myself that I need to
be more serious and more focused for
example. I’d split hairs whenever I’d find
myself repeating the same.
It probably got to a point when I ‘accepted’
that this behavior was a character flaw
that I’d have to live with for the rest of
my life. Worse still, I believed that the
only way for me to be motivated would
be extrinsically, that is, a deadline set by
someone other than myself was the only
way that I could achieve things. Don’t get
me wrong, it’s important to have people
we’re accountable to but that level of
dependence is certainly unhealthy.
Fortunately, by God’s grace, I came across
literature that helped me understand
procrastination better and boy I couldn’t
be more grateful. My situation in life right
now is such that I have to be responsible
for motivating myself and driving myself a
lot more than in the past, without relying
so much on extrinsic motivation.
We all go through those moments when
we tell ourselves, “I wish I knew that, what
a difference it would have made.” When
I studied material on procrastination
and perfectionism, I definitely had that
moment. But I also believe that there’s
a reason for everything and in this case
specifically, I can take the much I have
learned and use it to improve my future.
Marketing professionals are expected
to consistently share and update plans,
proposals and strategies. Delivering
in good time is imperative otherwise
repercussions can be felt up to the
company’s profit and loss statement.
Every one of us could do with better
time management, however in the case
of procrastination, it’s much more than
just having to do lists, Gantt charts and
whatever else.
Procrastination means ‘to put off until
tomorrow’ and is characterized by an
inability to regulate our thoughts and
behaviors to achieve an outcome within a
reasonable time. I loved a description of
procrastination as a trap.
The thinking behind this trap is very
simple. It’s a hole on a coconut that allows
a monkey’s hand to go in and out on
the condition that its hand is open. The
moment it makes a fist then its hand can’t
70 MAL24/18 ISSUE
Believe it or not in spite
of the pressure, I’d still
find myself running
away until I could no
longer run away. Like
trying to outrun a fast
moving vehicle, ulti-
mately the due dates
would draw close and
I’d have to deliver. A
good number of times,
I’d be well organized
and hand in whatever
was required of me in
good time and without
feeling overwhelmed
but then again a good
number of times I’d
use ‘last-minute pres-
sure’ as my fuel to get
things done.
come out. Inside the coconut are some
peanuts. The monkey puts its hand in and
grabs the peanuts. It tries to pull its hand
out but can’t because it’s still holding on
to the peanuts. Unfortunately, the monkey
doesn’t realize that the way to be free is to
let go of the peanuts …
We procrastinate because in the short-
term it’s rewarding; however ultimately
we get to the point of the proverbial “s$%*
hits the fan” and we realize that the short-
term reward from procrastinating is not
worth the overwhelming trouble we face
later on.
It’s important to first understand ‘why’
you’re procrastinating and the reasons are
never really quite the same for different
circumstances.
Generally, people procrastinate for
reasons such as: feeling the task at hand
is insurmountable, not knowing what to
do or how to go about the task, having
unrealistic expectations i.e. being a
perfectionist, fear of failure or of ego
being hurt, fear of success especially
the raised bar as a result of doing well,
negative perception of the task such as
boring, unnecessary, etc., fear of loss of
control especially when expectations
such as deadlines are imposed on us,
underestimating the amount of work a
task needs, no immediate rewards, and
what I believe is rarely, a lack of self-
discipline.
The feeling that the task at hand is
insurmountable is generally tackled by
breaking it down into little palatable tasks
that eventually build into the final large
piece. Use the time frame given to break
down these tasks. As you complete these
little tasks your self-esteem gets boosted
and you feel empowered that indeed you
can manage the full task.
Not knowing how to go about the task can
be managed by tools like brain-storming
and mind-mapping. It also helps to talk
to the authority above you on his/her
expectations and how he/she feels you
should go about the task.
Perfectionism and ego go hand in hand.
Being vulnerable is never easy, every one
of us has the desire to present an image of
‘well-put together and no flaws’ however,
in some cases, it becomes debilitating
because you hardly get anything done and
at times eve