Lately, I’ve seen a lot of writing and management advice on how to beat procrastination.
It’s no surprise! In our culture of deadlines and short-term imperatives, we tend to categorize procrastinators as time-wasters.
But would you have fired Leonardo Da Vinci, the Dalai Lama, or even Franck Lloyd Wright if they were in your teams?
They’re among the most well-known procrastinators and undoubtedly exceptional achievers.
Procrastination is not always that bad indeed and can help the creative thinking process, giving you more time to reflect on your options.
Yet, if you struggle with procrastination within your team, here are a few tips to help you manage it.
- Help the fearful by playing to their strengths. Some team members would rather work on something they know they’re good at. They fear the stretch challenge and failure. So make sure they’re not constantly pushed outside of their comfort zone. You still can help them grow; just choose their challenges wisely.
- Give milestones and short deadlines to the thrill-seeker. The secret with this type of procrastinator is to break the time horizon of a project into chewable chunks, with regular checkpoints and a short-term. You don’t need to unveil it all at once and can give smaller assignments sequentially.
- Build a culture of accountability. The best leaders know how to probe where their teams stand with open-ended questions. They act as a coach, letting the team solve the problems they own. They show support yet help clarify the consequences of everyone’s actions.
Lastly, here’s an effortless technique I’ve used myself while struggling with procrastination: the 10-minute rule. Quick example:
“Instead of saying you’re going to work on your business plan, say you’re going to use the next 10 minutes to work on your business plan.”
The hardest is to get the motion started, and chances are, you’ll soon realize you’ve been working on it for the past hour!