“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow,” Mark Twain famously said. The problem with this logic, of course, is that Twain was a humorist, and not too many folks in the bedding industry find procrastination very funny.
If procrastination happens to be your personal kryptonite, keynote speaker and author Scott Mautz wrote in December on Inc.com that there are three common lies that feed your destructive habit.
- “I work better under pressure.” Not likely, Mautz said, because studies consistently have shown that the stress created by time constraints actually makes it tougher for your brain to function the way it should.
- “My willpower will kick in.” According to Mautz, studies suggest your willpower probably is more susceptible to failure than you think it is. “So, depending on your willpower to switch on and get you going on that important task later on is a strategy for suckers,” he wrote.
- “My self-imposed deadlines will keep me on track.” This may sound good in theory, Mautz said, but what often happens is that the task turns out to be more difficult or time-consuming than you expected, and you haven’t left yourself enough time to get it done.
“The key is to not fall for three lies in particular that you might tell yourself,” Mautz wrote. “Avoid these misbeliefs and you’ll miss far fewer deadlines.”
