Why Procrastination Hurts You and Your Business

BY Feb. 16, 2010 25 Comments


There is no doubt that procrastinating is a terrible habit. I am probably not the only one who spends hours watching TV, surfing the web or chatting with friends at times when I should be working.

Why is procrastination harmful?

  • The obvious reason: it wastes your time.
  • If you procrastinate, you’ll post less. Remember, it’s important to take care of your community to prevent damaging your blog.
  • It will take time away from running your business because of the amount of time you waste. In the end, you’ll end up behind your competitors.
  • The more you procrastinate the more you might break commitments and not fulfill people’s expectations.
4 procrastination busters
  • Be motivated! Keep your goals in focus and don’t deter from them.
  • Use tools to manage your time:
    • TeuxDeux – A simple browser to-do list.
    • Keep Me Out – A great tool for blocking sites that you waste too much time on.
    • Stay Focusd – A Google Chrome extension that allows you to block sites, in order to increase your productivity.
  • Sign out, log off, or whatever you want call it from all the traps: MSN, Skype, AIM, Facebook, Twitter and so on.
  • Try to limit the amount of time you spend watching TV, texting, chatting, etc.

Have any other ideas on how to prevent procrastination? Let’s hear.

Entrepreneurship
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  • http://www.mylifeengineered.com David

    Oh, I’m going to check out that google chrome extension.. I hadn’t heard of it before.
    .-= David´s last blog post: Am I a blogger? =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Great to hear, enjoy!

  • Alex Ainsberg

    This stuff is sadly so true. Yeah, I like how you added those webtools. That was a cool idea – and will hopefully help me ;)

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Thanks for the tips on the webtools. Good luck!

  • http://getyourbizsavvy.com Alex Monroe

    I often get caught up in procrastination. It’s a terrible thing, but can always be beaten. See the end of the road and where you really want to go. Great points here Ben!
    .-= Alex Monroe´s last blog post: How long do you see yourself doing it? =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Believe me so do I, it’s terrible. Nice point. Thanks I appreciate it.

  • http://redeyeblogging.com Brian Inman

    I was going to leave a comment about Procrastination, but I will do it tomorrow.
    .-= Brian Inman´s last blog post: Blogging is Like Putting Together a Puzzle =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Ok hope to hear from you soon, keep procrastinating lol!

    • Alex Ainsberg

      LOL!

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  • http://www.buildthatlist.com Tom | Build That List

    Procrastination definitely hurts my blogging, and is probably the biggest thin that I struggle with.

    Some great tools you posted, but if I used them it would just give me something else to get distracted by!
    .-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog post: The Aweber Code….And Why You Need To Promote It! =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      I second that. Well if “anti-procastination” tools distract you, thats definitely a problem. Good luck!

  • http://www.offthebeaconpath.com Jack

    Great article Ben. I like the “Keep Me Out” website. I’ll check that out. Facebook and Email are probably my biggest productivity killers. Here are some things I do to keep productivity hight:

    1. If I need to do any kind of brainstorming, I turn my computer off and just use paper and pencil. It’s good to just go back to the basics with a blank sheet and a writing utensil and just let your mind wander.
    2. I keep a monthly to do list. It’s hard for me to always finish tasks within a week so giving myself a month lets me see what’s coming up as well as let me prioritize my life.
    3. I don’t have TV. I been without TV now for close to three years now. Instead, I use that hour to read, sleep (a big one), or go to the gym.
    .-= Jack´s last blog post: Accepted Into NVTC FastTrac Program =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Thanks Jack! I think that Facebook is worse since its a complete waste of time, at least checking email is productive…

      Great tips!
      1. Old school definitely sounds very productive!
      2. Awesome idea! I like Teux Deux but its weekly and hard to manage, maybe a monthly list on paper would help more.
      3. Way to go! I don’t have TV service, but Fox and Hulu still get me.

      Great job!

  • http://shirleyszone.com/ Shirley

    I’ve heard of TeuxDeux before and I think Keep Me Out sure is something that everyone should be using even though this is my first time of hearing of it, I think it has a good concept behind it :) .

    I don’t watch TV much, don’t go on MSN at all now, don’t go on Facebook much (I don’t like it that much, that is.). I’m actually on Twitter more than any of the social sites and tweet more than chat. But the good thing is I’ve now regulated my tweeting so I now have times that I tweet and check my @replies and stuff.

    If I don’t do this, I won’t be able to manage school and business, that is blogging in my case.

    So it’s a good topic you brought up today, Ben.

    Thanks for letting me know about the post. FeedBurner didn’t let me know, bad boy, FeedBurner :D .

    Great article :) .
    .-= Shirley´s last blog post: Follow Shirley On Google Buzz (Moi Ici, Me Here) :) =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Great to hear from you, looks your almost the top commentator ;) I have to start offering rewards to the top commentator!

      So Twitter is your problem, so that explains why you tweet so much :) . Well if you regulate it, that’s amazing.

      Not sure what’s going on with Feedburner, works for everyone else I think, maybe try unsubscribing and resubscribing…

      Thanks so much!

  • Clinton Skakun

    Great point Ben!

    Ever notice that when you put off for a few days, months seem to slip by, and what you could have done in a few hours dragged out to six months.

    There’s a saying: “Procrastinating is doing tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

    When we procrastinate we link more pain to doing than not doing. I’m sure you’ve had to wake up for school one day and you were 15 minutes late or so, wasn’t there a sense of urgency so you everything i your power to get ready get there! Or maybe it was for a job interview or what not. Sometimes pain is a great motivator, it’s why we buy, it’s why we file our taxes and it’s also why we drive the speed limit when there’s a cop behind you.

    If we don’t get done what we need to get done it’s because there’s not enough pleasure associated to doing the task and/or there’s not enough pain associated to not doing it.

    Here’s an idea I’ve considered implementing in my own life: make a commitment to not be comfortable. If you work your tail off all week, take the weekend off and have as much fun as you can. Think of every hour you spend watching TV one hour subtracted from your weekend(pain). And then think of all the results you’ll get from the extra hours you have from not watching TV(pleasure). Now look ahead to the weekend, feeling that you gave 150% and realizing that the free time off is a result of giving 150%.

    Those tools you brought up, I think they can be helpful, but I think most procrastination is just habit and to change the procrastination habit takes more than just blocking out the distractors. It’s more about making a conscious decision to “do these dull tasks right now, instead of later”

    Just my ideas. You made some good points :)

    Clinton
    .-= Clinton Skakun´s last blog post: 4 Benefits of Empathetic Listening, How to Improve Your Listening Skills! =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Hey Clinton,

      You bring up some great points, I definitely agree with:

      “If we don’t get done what we need to get done it’s because there’s not enough pleasure associated to doing the task and/or there’s not enough pain associated to not doing it.”

      I agree with you 100% and I really like your opinions on this topic. The tools I shared aren’t the most you could do, what you need to is make a “conscious decision to do these dull tasks right now, instead of later.”

      Thanks for sharing Clinton :)

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  • http://juniorbiz.com Nick Tart

    Hey Ben! Thanks for the efficient post! I use Teux Deux and I love it but sometimes I struggle to keep it up to date. And I will definitely be using one of those other two tools.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Hey Nick! Glad to hear that you use it. Good luck with it ;)

  • http://www.dennisedell.com/about Dennis Edell

    Alex from Bloggusion.com also recommended TeuxDeux, so I’ll definitely be checking into that one.

    I wouldn’t call this procrastination, but my biggest issue is waking early enough some days…today I didn’t even turn on ’till 1pm
    .-= Dennis Edell´s last blog post: WANTED – Keyword Research Expert(s) =-.

    • http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

      Yeah I saw that also, if he recommends it, then I agree :) Well I’m sure you could be a lot more productive if you woke up earlier… Good luck!

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  • http://www.shuttertours.com/ Terry Divyak

    I can agree and disagree on this topic. Procrastinating on taxes and accounting might be a negative thing, but sometimes doing so on business decisions can have its benefits.

    I tend to procrastinate on things like equipment purchases, to make sure I really can’t live without the item and make sure I’m not making a hasty decision. More times than not, this was the better business decision.