Time Management - Marc Mancini
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52<br />
<strong>Time</strong> <strong>Management</strong><br />
Waiting for Other People<br />
There’s one other external factor that might lead to<br />
procrastination: waiting for other people.You may be an<br />
angel of timely behavior, but your boss, your spouse, or your employee<br />
may not be. Changing someone else’s behavior is even more difficult<br />
than changing your own. Here are a few ideas that may help:<br />
• Set precise timelines and deadlines for others.<br />
• Set false, early deadlines, to make it more probable that they’ll actually<br />
finish on time.<br />
• Communicate your frustration with their behavior, if necessary.<br />
• Encourage them to use some of the strategies outlined in this chapter<br />
to overcome their tendency to procrastinate.<br />
increase significantly” is less productive and has less impact than<br />
saying, “Our goal is to increase sales by 12%.”<br />
5. You fear change. This is one of the more deeply psychological<br />
reasons for procrastination. All living things are creatures of<br />
habit. Doing something the way you’ve always done it seems<br />
safe. Making changes sometimes courts the unexpected—and<br />
the unexpected can sometimes be unpleasant. So fear of<br />
change is a natural, human reaction. But it can also be debilitating,<br />
encouraging procrastination and deferring changes that are<br />
useful and beneficial.<br />
If you procrastinate because you’re in a rut—because you’re<br />
resisting change—any of the following might work for you:<br />
• Change your physical environment. Old habits cling to<br />
old places. Try a new room, a new chair, a new office, a<br />
new anything. You’ll be surprised how such a change can<br />
spark actions on duties you’re avoiding.<br />
• Change your routines and patterns. Take a different route<br />
to get to work. You may be surprised at how you might<br />
feel toward a procrastinated obligation when you get to<br />
the office.<br />
• Do nothing. Just walk into your home or office, sit down,<br />
and stare at the wall. You’ll soon be so bored that a<br />
change will be precisely what you want.