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Procrastination indicates that a man does not see his way clearly. And undue of it means that he does not see at all. Charles Buxton says, "Indulge in procrastination, and in time you will come to this, that because a thing ought to be done, therefore you can’t do it." In the modern work culture, the hallmark of which is efficiency, the worker or executive who procrastinates wrestles with his own career. We are all procrastinators, in one way or another. I can quote examples of numerous people who failed to put in proper papers before or on time though they were desperately in need of a job. In office work, people keep putting things off because they find them boring, too routine and often stereotype. Give an office clerk 20 letters to type, proof-read, and stamp them, and then mail them, the chances are that he will put them in deep freeze. Give him five, he is pepped up, and comes back to you for more work, for he is already done with his assignment. Too much stereotype work blunts zest and spurs procrastination. The dictionary defines procrastination as an act of putting things off, doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness. Procrastination is often seen as a negative personality trait. It includes laziness, a misplaced sense of perfection, compulsive nature and obsession about letting it drift. Since important matters call for attention and energy, which cause stress and tension, the executives or the workers have a tendency to put off. If the work demands commitment, responsibility and accountability, the inclination to procrastination increases. Similarly, an overbearing chief, making the junior feel imposed upon, may deter him rather than spur him into action. This kind of worker, found in abundance, often shelters himself with the plea: "I will take the next opportunity." Such a person pawns his career to uncertainty. Procrastination is the thief of time. Year after year, it steals all, till one is left with no spare moments. Congreve has put it aptly: "Delay not till tomorrow to be wise; tomorrow’s sun to thee may never rise." At a point of time there may be a variety of reasons, or pressures, personal and organisational, which may, in their own way, cause the postponement. One factor, often sunk in the subconscious, is fear of failure. Responsibility scares many. Even success creates a fear of its own peculiar nature. Many youngsters, scared of failure, start avoiding tasks of an unpleasant kind, which need attention and completion. This triggers a state of anxiety or nervousness. Lack of self-confidence is the root of it. In some cases, lack of proper information or (ignorance) is the cause. As the deadline closes in on them, they panic, avoid, invent excuses to put off their work further. They are time ostriches! Poverty of thought and understanding of the organisational culture are other causes. No person can think, if he has not developed this faculty, whatever his status in an organisation. Thinking is one of the most difficult things to do in the world. Most thrive on proverbs and hearsay. Procrastination follows you like a discarded tin box which gets attached to your car wheel. Get down and get rid of it.
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IN the corporate
culture, time is of prime importance. Those who are guided by the
principle of "by and by", they arrive at the house of
"never."
