TACTIC 3 AVOIDING SITUATIONS AND TASKS[MENTAL HEALTH]4

A perfect way to avoid tasks outside our comfort zones is to delay doing them. We all do it-telling ourselves that we’ll start writing that report when the dishes are done… and then when the news is over… and then when the kids are asleep… and then when the television programme is over… We procrastinate at least occasionally and 25 percent of us admit to doing it consistently and problematically . And among this procrastinating group, apparently , are some famous figures :

Bill Clinton is known to be a chronic procrastinator .

According to Time Magazine, Clinton would wait weeks before commenting on drafts of speeches, untill the very last minute.

Al Gore called him, ‘punctually challenged,’ and Hillary Clinton said that it was’ ‘maddening to keep him on any kind of schedule .”

Many historical figures have struggled with procrastination as well.

Author Herman Melville reportedly had his wife chain him to his desk to avoid procrastination when he was writing Moby-Dock.

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A poignant example of procrastination from my research comes from Neil Kennedy , the entrepreneur who had created a facebook-like site years before facebook was ever launched . Neil was poised to create riches for himself and his inventors – but he had one problem : Procrastination. Neil felt much more comfortable and safe in ”thinking mode” perfecting every last bell and whistle before introducing it to the general public .

In the end, Neil’s procrastination – and reluctance to expose his ideas scrutiny – let others catch up and overtake him. And the rest is history.

Although almost of us procrastinate , few of us admit that we do. Instead , we create excuses for our behaviour-stories we tell ourselves about why we’re doing something that is really procrastination in disguise . Neil’s disguise , for instance , was about ”being careful” ; in other words , by thinking for the ”perfect ” so long, he was simply being a thoughtful and careful CEO. Another excuse might be looking for ”perfect” timing as in : the perfect time to launch a website or make a career move.