Some things just beg to be put off. Like that half a rain forest’s worth of filing that’s been on your desk for weeks. Or the “chat”
you should have scheduled weeks ago with your slacking, pissy-attitude
junior. Hmmm, that pen drawer is looking pretty filthy again…
The boring, the scary, and the uncomfortable
all turn even natural born doers into put-it-off professionals. “The
urge to procrastinate is tied to our self-worth—at work particularly,”
explains Neil Fiore, Ph.D., author of The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination.
“We avoid difficult jobs where our ability could be judged and dodge
the tiresome ones simply because humans are far more motivated by the
promise of instant reward.” Hence the Pavlovian ping of “new e-mail.”
Here, four scenarios that you shouldn’t put off until tomorrow.
