Productivity and procrastination: Should we finally start procrastinating?

We all have 24 hours in a day, but how we choose to use them has a great impact on our personal life, business, and overall well-being. Let’s be honest here for a minute, procrastination causes us all a great deal of emotional or physical tension. Especially when it comes to leaving to the last minute strategically important task.

Speaking about stress, see our insight “Inhale peace. Exhale stress.”

Procrastination also contributes to the waste in the system (think Lean approach). The time and effort of your team can be entirely wasted and/or produce low-quality outcomes when a piece of the process is not planned and executed on time. Project coordination simply falls apart when team members start procrastinating leaving no time for valuable feedback.

So what should we do about procrastination?

Well, let’s clear something here first. Procrastination can actually be a positive thing. It reminds us about the freedom to choose when we want to do something and how much energy we want to put into it, rather than forcing ourselves to blindly follow someone else's schedule or instructions. It also reminds us to take a break and recharge instead of constantly pushing our minds and bodies to the limit.

Here is a couple of things you can do to improve your productivity:

• Divide large goals into small easy-to-accomplish tasks.
• Create mechanisms that get you started without you using much willpower. Remember, your willpower is a valuable resource, just like time or capital.
• Guard your productivity by developing healthy habits such as waking up early, eating a better diet, and exercising.
• Take regular breaks and don’t forget to recharge.
• Prioritize strategic and larger-impact matters over less important priorities. Group the rest of the routine tasks into “boring time clusters” and do something fun while working on them, drinking your favorite beverage, or listening to music.
• Eliminate distractions in your workspace.

Also here is @mattsurelee take on improving your productivity

What if the problem lies in something larger than just procrastination?

The question is “Do you really want to do it?”. Do you want to devote a part of your life to the task you are about to start working on? If not, maybe this is the reason why you end up procrastinating. Maybe this is the time for you to finally figure out your Ikigai.

In other words, you don’t have to choose between procrastination or productivity – choose both! Take time to figure out what you want to devote your life to. Relax and de-stress when you are running on fumes. But then, once rested, work hard and push your limits further, so that you can make the most out of your life while adding value to others.

Doing something worth your time… Maybe this is the key to helping you stay motivated and productive.

Now, let’s go watch some Netflix!