Stop Procrastinating, Start Hitting Deadlines | by Anett Olah

“He who hesitates is lost.” 
(Proverb – an adaptation of Joseph Addison's 1712 play “Cato: a Tragedy”)

Don’t procrastinate reading this article about procrastination!

Which of the following applies to you?

• Project deadline? Not a problem! I’m ready a week before!
• What??? Does it have a deadline? 
• Can I get an extension, please?
• I’ll submit something… I can make it perfect later, can’t I?

As you start your apprenticeship, soon you find yourself in a (sometimes “vicious”) circle of: 'Activate learning – Workshop – Project submission – Repeat'.

One module after another, and deadlines always come sooner than expected. Let’s not forget, it’s an apprenticeship – i.e., you have a day job to do, and I’m sure that you had plenty to do even before the apprenticeship. 

So here you are, an already busy person trying to fit (or rather squeeze) the circle mentioned above into your routine. 

I must admit, I thought I was really good at hitting deadlines. During my 17 years in Finance, I had plenty of opportunities to practice - month-end close periods and financial statement submissions always challenged my time management skills and made me improve them. However, the apprenticeship elevated the game to the next level, and I quickly learnt that the key is to keep on top of the tasks. 

You probably have read articles about time management before, so now let me concentrate on one aspect only - the archenemy of hitting a project deadline: PROCRASTINATION.

If you delay doing something that should be done now, you procrastinate.
Some delay the start of working on a project; some begin but put off finishing. Still others get close to finishing, but start another project and leave the first one unfinished.

Why do we procrastinate?

The three main reasons according to Neil Fiore, author of the book “The New Habit”, are: “feeling like a victim, being overwhelmed, and fear of failure.” 
Indeed, when you open up your project assignment and see all the tasks to do and the key competencies to hit, you can easily feel overwhelmed. It’s also worth acknowledging that it is new knowledge we try applying and we can feel unequipped for the task. And finally, let’s admit that not all modules are equally exciting – so we can simply feel unmotivated to do our project assignment. 

Is it really that bad to delay things?

Surely, it’s not the end of the world to submit a project a few days late. However, if you make procrastination a habit, then you’ll likely not catch up – rather, you’ll be late with the next Activate learning, ask for a bit longer extension on your next project … and eventually reach EPA weeks or even months after the expected date.
It will not only make your Manager unhappy – in fact, one of the typical consequences of procrastination is stress and anxiety and the inability to relax even when we have free time. That nagging feeling of leaving something unfinished just won’t let us enjoy it. 

Think about the quality of work as well: if you leave things to the last minute instead of planning and thinking it over, you might get something done eventually, but is it going to be a masterpiece (or in apprenticeship terms, “exceed”)?
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Leonardo done with the Mona Lisa overnight … In fact, according to the Louvre, it took him 16 years to finish it! It’s not a question though whether it was worth it or not.
Okay, so now we all see that we should start changing a habit. But how? 

Here are some tips to get you started!

• Begin ASAP: you don’t have to wait till the workshop to start a project – as soon as you get access to the learning platform, you can check your project assignments. My advice is to do your first Activate learning as early as possible and start your first project straight away. Your coach can always guide you and you can refine it as you gain a deeper understanding of the topic. 
• Prioritize and make a list: your day job and projects are all important – but you still have to decide which one should come first – and you may even find things you don’t have to do at all! A simple priority matrix can help (**):

• Break the project up into smaller slices: as you progress by getting smaller segments done, you’ll feel motivated to accomplish the whole task. One method is to do one task each week.
• Ask for advice: utilize the Multiverse Community – we all are facing (or have faced) the same challenge – so why not tap into the experience of others and learn tips & tricks from each other? Look out for the Community Events and use the Forum!
• Deal with distractions and interruptions: let people know you are working on your project – put yourself on “do not disturb” mode on your work chat and silence your phone. Still, interruptions will happen – so plan for them. We work with others who also have deadlines, so instead of getting upset, allow some time in your plan for these. 
• Pat yourself on the back: although it’s different for everyone, a rule of thumb is that you should plan an approx. 90-minute long “deep work” session, after which you should pause, stretch, get some refreshment, or listen to your favourite song. Reward yourself for sticking to your plan and accomplishing the task.

Well done! You have accomplished reading this article without procrastinating! 

If you are already a pro at hitting deadlines, please share your tips. If you feel you have things to work on, then this might be the first step of breaking a habit and turning it into a more fruitful one. Enjoy your apprenticeship! 

Anett Olah is a Business Transformation apprentice based in Manchester, UK.