Organize to Simplify

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National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

The Real Costs of Procrastination

Most of us do at least a little of it every day.

Procrastinate.

We tell ourselves “I’ll get to that later” and most of the time we do. But what happens if we don’t? What if we procrastinate too long? What are the costs?

We try to convince ourselves that there’s little-to-no cost of procrastination, but there can be significant costs, some very tangible, others more subtle.

Relationships: We’d like to think that the people closest to us know we have only the best intentions when it comes to follow-through, but what about the every day costs to our relationships that procrastinating causes? The partner that agreed to pick up the dry cleaning on the way home and procrastinates until the cleaner is closed. The parent who agreed to bake for the school event and procrastinates until it’s too late and disappoints their child by providing store-bought treats instead of the home-made they’d promised their classmates. The friend that promises to make a dinner reservation for a special event and procrastinates until the restaurant can’t accommodate the request. Yes, these are all small things, but significant in relationship-building. Cost of procrastination: Trust.

Health: As a breast cancer survivor, I am keenly aware of the cost of putting off health-related appointments. Regular health screenings and preventative maintenance, like flu and pneumonia shots, are critical to our well-being so they shouldn’t be put off. Use whatever strategy works to get things done: schedule mammograms with a girlfriend then go to lunch; schedule all the appointments on your birthday as a gift to yourself; schedule a massage or a round of golf after all the appointment are complete. You get the idea, whatever works to motivate. Cost of procrastination: Poor health.

Household Chores: I don’t know anyone that likes to clean the gutters. Cleaning gutters involves a ladder, dragging it around the house, possibly getting on the roof (I recommend hiring an expert if your gutters need to be cleaned from the roof or if the ladder is too high), and smelly, wet leaves. And, as gutter-cleaning procrastinators, we generally end up doing it in the rain and at night since that’s when we notice that the drainpipes are overflowing. Wouldn’t it have been much easier to have cleaned the gutters on a nice, sunny Saturday before the rain starts? From personal experience, I can tell you it is. And it’s not just gutters we need to worry about. Not cleaning furnace filters will result in reduced productivity and higher energy bills. Not cleaning the dryer vents may result in a lint fire. Not checking the water softener will result in spotty glasses. The list goes on and on. Cost of procrastination: Stress, money, and safety.

Home/Car Repairs: It’s a fact of life, things break. Whether it’s the toaster, the sink, or the car, stuff just happens and we have to deal with it. The cost of not fixing or replacing a faulty toaster could mean no toast in the morning or getting shocked while trying to retrieve the toast with a kitchen fork (strongly NOT recommended!). The costs of not fixing a leaky sink could be just a minor annoyance to extensive damage to flooring, cabinetry or walls. The cost of not addressing squeaky brakes could be devastating to the safety of ourselves and our loved ones. Cost of procrastination: Money, major home/car repairs, and safety.

Organization (my personal favorite): According to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns 55 minutes per day – roughly 13 days a year – looking for things they know they own but can’t find. Disorganization manifests itself in many ways: wasted time because we can’t find things; finance charges because we didn’t pay our bills on time; late fees for not returning a library book or DVD; money wasted replacing things we already own because we couldn’t find them when we needed them; and trust because we didn’t finish a project on time due to dysfunctional time management. Being organized means we can find things when we need them, we can do the things we need to do when they need to be done, and we can get the places we need to get on time. Cost of procrastination: Time, money, and trust.

Financial Planning: Detailed and thorough financial planning is critical to our long-term well- being. When we are in our twenties and thirties, we can’t see past a new pair of jeans, let alone think about planning for our retirement. Those days just seem too far away, but it’s never too early to start planning for our retirement. What’s the benefit of starting early? Using the compound interest calculator, I wanted to see how much a relatively small investment could grow over time. I started with $1,000 and estimated that I’d put in an additional $50 per month (about 10 lattes with a generous tip) and calculated the growth over 10 years at a 5% interest rate. What would I have at the end of that time period? $9,175.63. Change it to 20 years and the number becomes a staggering $22,492.87. Amazing what a little planning and discipline could do for our long-term financial well being. Cost of procrastination: Limited Retirement Savings, Reduced Retirement Enjoyment.

Taxes: According to a CBS News post, the cost of waiting until the last minute to file income taxes costs on average an additional $400. It’s not that we can just choose to not pay our taxes by April 15 (give or take). (Well, some folks may, but I’m guessing the cost of that decision is much greater than $400.) We are just delaying the inevitable. If we thought we were getting money back on our taxes, we’d be Johnny-On-The-Spot when it came to filing our taxes, right? Not necessarily. Procrastinators are procrastinators, and whether we think we are getting money back or having to give Uncle Sam money, we generally wait until the last minute to do it anyway. In addition, the extra $400, the stress of not knowing takes a tremendous toll. Cost of procrastination: Money, stress.

Business Costs: A 2012 CNBC post identified the cost of procrastination in business as being a staggering $10,396 . . . . per employee . . . per year. Wow! The article referred to procrastination as “the most invisible cost in business today.” I don’t doubt it. When I worked in “Corporate America,” I surely procrastinated a bit on projects that I knew needed to get done, but I just didn’t feel motivated to do. Why did I procrastinate? Generally, I felt I didn’t know enough about the project to get started, didn’t feel I had the appropriate resources to get the project completed, or just found other stuff that was more fun to do. Cost of procrastination: Money, Credibility, Possible Promotion

Insurance: After procrastinating on the project for a couple years, we went through a comprehensive analysis of our home insurance needs. After extensive research, we found an amazing insurance package that was far less in cost with far more coverage. Had I gone through the process a few years earlier, we would have been able to save several thousand dollars AND had more extensive coverage. It sickens me to think of what I might have been able to do with that money. The same goes for renewing any kind of insurance: auto, home, personal liability, health, etc. I worked with a client several years ago that hadn’t done a detailed review of their business auto insurance in several years. After an analysis of their coverage, it was determined that two of their vehicles hadn’t been included in the policy. Can you imagine the cost had there been an accident with one of those vehicles? Frightening. Cost of procrastination: Money, Peace of Mind, Liability

Fortunately, procrastination can be managed. It requires scheduling, initiative, and a drive to do better, but it can be done.

The best way to stop procrastinating? Just get started. Starting small will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks are uncomfortable for us. Once we get started, we have the drive to finish.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Dr. Ari Tuckman on Time Blindness

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Time Blindness

Today.

Tomorrow.

Next week.

Next month.

Now.

Never.

Time Blindness: The lack of awareness of the passing of time.

Although I work primarily with clients that struggle with ADHD, almost everyone has struggled with time blindness at some point.

In this 7:38 video about ADHD and time blindness, Dr. Russell A. Barkley highlights a few key points about time blindness and ADHD, but I find them universally applicable:

“What is the purpose of the frontal lobe to humans? It is to organize behavior across time in anticipation of what is coming at you. The future.”

“Now is more important than what you are holding in the future.”

“The further out the event lies, the less they are capable of dealing with it” (speaking of people diagnosed with ADHD).

What does time blindness look like?

Company is coming in three weeks and there is a laundry list of things that need to be done. But, it’s three weeks away, so what’s the hurry? Time blindness convinces us we have plenty of time, but when the company is two days away, there literally isn’t the appropriate time to prepare. Shoot!
You need to pick up the kids from soccer at 4:00. No worries, it’s only 2:30 and we just need to check e-mail. And Facebook. And the new deals on Zulily. “This will only take a few minutes.” Well, an hour and a half later, you are now late to pick up the kids. Dang!
The sprinkler system needs to be shut down for the winter. No biggie, it’s September. I’ll call “next week.” “Next week” turns into October, then November, then December. Now the shut-off is buried under 2’ of snow, the service provider is shut down for the winter, and the pipes may have already frozen. Fingers crossed.

What are the consequences?

Not putting our best foot forward. Being unprepared. Panic.
Letting down family, friends, and colleagues. Shame. Guilt.
Expensive repairs. Frustration. Anxiety.

What to do?

Use a calendar. Keeping important appointments and dates in our heads is a recipe for disaster. Invest in whatever type of calendar works for how your brain works, then ensure all important dates/times are noted, with appropriate reminders (1 week before a birthday, 30-minutes before a conference call, etc.). Be sure to break down big projects into manageable steps and put those steps on the calendar.
Set timers. Transitions are hard, but especially hard if we struggle with ADHD, so set timers for any situation where an important transition needs to be made: leaving for work, picking up your kids, departing for a flight. You get the picture. If it’s important, set a timer to ensure follow-through. Use any timing device that works for you: timers on the microwave, timers on the oven, timers on your phone, timers on your watch, and my personal favorite the Time Timer.
Take into account whether or not other people are involved in the process. If someone else needs to be involved, be respectful and conscientious of their time also.

I’ve found the most important investment my clients can make to assist with time blindness is a bunch of analog clocks. There is an innate difference between seeing time pass on an analog clock vs a digital clock. Ensure there is an analog clock anywhere a transition needs to be executed: any highly-trafficked rooms at home or work and especially in the car (a quick stop at Target is almost never a quick stop).

More great stuff on time blindness:

Zara Harris, MS, OT, on Time Blindness

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Are you working with boulders or pebbles?

Things can be so dog-gone overwhelming sometimes, can’t they?

I worked with a couple clients last week that were paralyzed by their “to do” lists. The lists were so long and the projects were so daunting that the default action was inaction.

They were trying to work with boulders when it would have been much easier to work with pebbles.

What does working with boulders vs pebbles mean? I’ll use one of my projects as an example.

I realized that my current business name doesn’t speak to a large segment of my business: coaching. If you were looking for a coach would you think it made sense to contact “Organize to Simplify?” I know I wouldn’t, so I’m changing my business name which triggers a plethora of tasks. Some of these are Boulder tasks, some are pebble tasks.

Change business name and identity: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task
Create new logo: Boulder task
Create a new website: Boulder task
Outreach to clients and support base: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task (done)

Create new logo: Boulder task

Hire designer: Pebble task (done)
Engage with friends, family, and colleagues for their input on initial designs: Pebble task (done)
Submit preference to the designer: Pebble ask
Review 2nd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task
Review 3rd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task

Create a new website: Boulder task

Decide on new website platform: Boulder task (done)
- Review website options and costs: Pebble task (done)
- Review website templates: Pebble task (done)
Determine if the website will be self-created or hire sub-contractor: Boulder task
- Determine if I can do it myself: Pebble task
- Determine if I can justify sub-contractor cost: Pebble task
- Determine timeline availability of sub-contractor matches desired deliverable: Pebble task
Create website sitemap: Pebble task
Rewrite website pages: Pebble task
Choose images for the website: Pebble task

Market new company: Boulder task

Create marketing plan: Boulder task
- Determine marketing target: Pebble task
- Determine marketing vehicles: Pebble task
Order new business cards and note cards: Pebble task
Write a letter of introduction to clients and support base: Pebble task
Solicit LinkedIn endorsements: Pebble task
Solicit Google My Business endorsements: Pebble task

I fid this to be a pretty daunting, and I’m certain incomplete, list.

The task of “Change business name and identity” is a boulder task. I would never have been able to pick that boulder up all at one time. The boulder task was too big. I needed to create many pebbles out of that boulder in order to be successful.

What boulder tasks are you avoiding because they are too daunting?

What could you get done if you broke that boulder into pebbles?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Taxes stressing you out?

“Yikes! I’m not even close to getting my taxes done and so stressed out about it!”

Not surprisingly, this time of year creates a lot of stress and anxiety for people . . . . especially for those that may have some procrastination, organization and motivation challenges.

Generally speaking, taxes are frustrating, confusing, and sometimes moderately depressing. Therefore, we tend to procrastinate when it comes to filing our taxes. According to Wolf Tax, there are five general reasons we procrastinate when it comes to filing our taxes:

Excuses: We can come up with lots of circumstances as to why we don’t do things, especially if the excuses are self-serving and other people around you are doing it too. “Groupthink” anyone?
Thrill-Seeking: Sometimes waiting until the last possible moment to do something gives us an emotional high. Generally, this is a short-lived payoff.
No obvious penalty: There’s no penalty for dropping them off at the post office at 11:59 PM on April 15. Why hurry?
Work better under pressure: Actually, people are less effective and more prone to make errors when working under pressure.
Perfectionism: Often referred to as “perfection paralysis.” We don’t want to start a project because we fear the outcome may not be “perfect.” Perfect stands in the way of progress.

Hopefully, you’ve already filed your taxes, received your refund, and none of what I’m presenting applies to you. If so, nicely done!

If you are still waiting to file your taxes, here are your next few steps:

Call For A Tax Appointment: Stop reading right now and call for an appointment with your tax preparer. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to do some research. There are, of course, a plethora of tax preparation options. You can do an internet search on “tax preparation services,” but now may be a great time to use that social network you’ve been building. Ask your friends and relatives if they have anyone to recommend. In addition, there may be some free tax preparation services available depending on your age and income. Search “free tax preparation services” and you will get a lot of
Gather Your Documents: By now you should have received all the documents required to prepare your taxes. These documents may include, but are not limited to:

W-2s from your employers,
1099-MISC forms for self-employment income,
1099-INT (interest) and 1099-DIV (dividends) forms,
1099-B forms showing brokerage trades in stocks and bonds,
K-1 forms for income from a partnership, small business, or trust,
1099-SSA form showing Social Security received,
Documentation of charitable donations.

Other great sources for documents you may need to prepare your taxes:
Tax Preparation Documents for Homeowners
Documents To Take To Your Accountant

Create A Reusable File System To Track And Maintain Tax Documents: Once you’ve gathered all your documents, create a simple filing system (it may only be two file folders or envelopes) that will allow you to repeat this process year-after-year (generally tax documentation requirements will be the same from year-to-year unless there are major life changes).

Envelope #1 Current Year Taxes: This envelope will contain a checklist of all the documents that were required to file the current years’ taxes, plus all backup documentation.

Envelope #2 Next Year Taxes: This envelope will contain the checklist of documents you need to gather for the next year’s tax cycle. Using this previously-created and tax preparer-approved form will make it easier to ensure you have all the documentation you need for simple tax preparation come year end.

I suggest using sturdy, plastic folders or envelopes for this purpose, that way you’re not replacing them every year. Plastic File Folders or Plastic Envelopes

Filing taxes isn’t always fun and rewarding, but the consequences of not filing (or not filing on time) can be expensive and stressful. Don’t procrastinate.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Professional Resource Member

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.

National Procrastination Week: March 5-11, 2017

(I was going to publish this next week as a joke about procrastination, but decided against it. Probably wouldn’t be as funny as I think it is right now.)

I like to think of myself as a pretty efficient, on-top-of it kind of gal . . . but I’m also a bit of a procrastinator.

These are some of my top reasons for procrastinating:

If I can’t assign a priority to something, I don’t plan a time to do it.
If I don’t know how to do something, I put it off.
Frankly, I just don’t want to do it . . . so I don’t do it until it’s a crisis.

Want some more?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow.
We work better under pressure.
We don’t have all the tools we need to get the project done.
The project is just too big.

How many more can you think of? Several, I’ll bet. I think we can all acknowledge that these are excuses, not reasons, for not getting things done. What’s the reality behind each of the above?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow: Well, we probably won’t. If we didn’t want to do it today, we more than likely won’t want to do it tomorrow. What’s going to change in 24 hours that will make the task more inviting and stimulating? Nothing. How successful are we at predicting how we will feel in the future? Generally, not very good. Plus, we don’t know what additional roadblocks may come our way that would cause an even more negative impact. It would help if we could identify why we are delaying starting the project, identify any emotional or physical roadblocks, then remove them. More than likely we stumble over emotional roadblocks due the uncertainty of how to accomplish the task. Postponing alone won’t resolve that roadblock.

We work better under pressure: Studies show we don’t. Things generally take longer than we anticipate and are more complex than we give them credit for. When we leave things to the last minute we rush, make more mistakes, and generally deliver an inferior product because we didn’t have (or make) the time necessary to do the job right. Is that the image you want to project to your employer, family, or friends? Probably not. Working under pressure causes extreme stress. Starting the task or project early, identifying the demands of the project, and working frequently and methodically, will result in a better result. Leaving the last look and finishing touches until the last minute may be okay, but leaving starting until the last minute won’t help deliver the best product.

We don’t have all the tools we need to get the job done: Well, maybe we don’t, but not having the tools readily at hand doesn’t mean we can’t start. What we CAN do is start the project by breaking it down into steps, the first one being to identify what tools or resources we need to complete those steps, and make a plan to get started, including scheduling it on our calendars.

The project is just too big: Sometimes the task just seem too big and that’s understandable. Some projects are quite large and very daunting, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to accomplish. I heard a great example from Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D (an expert on procrastination) about trimming his dogs toenails. He has 10 sled dogs, each with 20 toenails. Thinking about trimming 200 toe nails was too much; but breaking it down into smaller chunks of two dogs per day (40 toenails) made it a much more manageable task. So, even though the entire project may seem like too much, breaking it down into smaller, more achievable tasks will help.

Do you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? I know I do. The key is determining what is holding you back and work through it. How do we do that?

Make A Plan

Just Get Started

Although it sounds simple, sometimes that’s all it takes. Just getting started will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks tend to be uncomfortable, so once we get started, we have the drive and desire to finish.

Cindy Jobs

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

The Real Costs of Procrastination: Installment #2

Procrastination is a tricky thing. Frankly, I procrastinated writing this post for 6 days. When I was working on The Real Costs of Procrastination: Installment #1 I thought “I’ll just dive right into Installment #2.” Did I? No. Why? Because I had a whole week to do it. Now, here I am at the 11th hour trying to get in done in time for the deadline.

What was the cost to me of that decision? Significant stress.

Last week I published The Real Costs of Procrastination: Installment #1 that dealt with the tangible and intangible costs of procrastinating on Relationships, Health, Household Chores, Home/Car Repairs, and Organization (my personal favorite). Installment #2 will tackle Wills, Financial Planning, Taxes, Business Costs, and Insurance.

Wills: Not that any of us want to think about it, but at some point, our earthly possessions will need to be passed on to someone else. It’s true, as cool as our stuff is, we can’t take it with us. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we had some say in where our cool stuff went? Well, that’s what wills are for. A 2008 study found that 58% of Americans did not have a will. That number doesn’t surprise me at all. It should, but it doesn’t. None of us want to think about death and dying, but it is irresponsible to our loved ones not to take care of this important process. When someone passes without a will, the state gets to decide what happens to your stuff. In most situations it could be pretty straight forward: the inheritance goes to the spouse, the kids, etc. But what about our businesses? What about our stepchildren or non-marital significant other? What if we didn’t want everything divided equally? What if we wanted all our money and possessions to go to a favorite charity? Without a valid will, none of these situations would probably be resolved to our desired expectation. Cost of procrastination: Money, Relationships.

(Phew, glad to have that one out of the way.)

Financial Planning: Detailed and thorough financial planning is critical to our long-term well being. When we are in our twenties and thirties, we can’t see past a new pair of jeans to even think about planning for our retirement. Those days just seem too far away. It is never too early to start planning for our retirement; but lots of times it can be too late. What’s the benefit of starting early? Using the compound interest calculator, I wanted to see how much a relatively small investment could grow over time. I started with $1,000 and estimated that I’d put in an additional $50 per month (about 10 lattes with a generous tip), and calculated the growth over 10 years at a 5% interest rate. What would I have at the end of that time period? $9,175.63. Change it to 20 years and the number becomes a staggering $22,492.87. Amazing what a little planning and discipline could do for our long-term financial well being. Cost of procrastination: Limited Retirement Savings, Reduced Retirement Enjoyment.

Taxes: According to a CBS News post, the cost of waiting until the last minute to file income taxes costs on average an additional $400. It’s not that we can just choose to not pay our taxes by April 15. (Well, some folks may, but I’m guessing the cost of that decision is much greater than $400.) We are just delaying the inevitable. If we thought we were getting money back on our taxes, we’d be Johnny-On-The-Spot when it came to filing our taxes, right? Not necessarily. Procrastinators are procrastinators, and whether we think we are getting money back or having to give Uncle Sam money, we generally wait until the last minute to do it anyway. In addition the the extra $400, the stress of not knowing takes a tremendous toll. Cost of procrastination: Money, stress.

Business Costs: A 2012 CNBC post identified the cost of procrastination in business as being a staggering $10,396 . . . . per employee . . . per year. Wow! The article referred to procrastination as “the most invisible cost in business today.” I don’t doubt it. When I worked in Corporate America, I surely procrastinated a bit on projects that I knew needed to get done, but I just didn’t feel motivated to do. Mostly the procrastinated projects had open-ended completion dates, but they were necessary, and the benefit to the company had I completed them in a timely manner would have been significant. Why did I procrastinate? Generally, I felt I didn’t know enough about the project to get started; didn’t feel I had the appropriate resources to get the project completed; or just found other stuff that was more fun to do. Cost of procrastination: Money, Credibility, Possible Promotion

Insurance: I just updated my business insurance a few months ago. Before I renewed in 2013 I committed to shopping my insurance needs around a bit. Well, I procrastinated that project and didn’t do it, letting my carrier renew me for the next 12 months without a second thought. This year I received five proposals covering my current business insurance needs. The result? A 40% reduction in cost for the same coverage. It sickens me to think of what I might have been able to do with that money had I gone through the process in 2013. I should have taken the time to ensure that my coverage was complete and the best value available. The same goes for renewing any kind of insurance: auto, home, personal liability, health, etc. I worked with a client several years ago that hadn’t done a detailed review of their business auto insurance in several years. After my analysis of their coverage, it was determined that two of their vehicles hadn’t been included in the policy. Can you image the cost had there been an accident with one of those vehicles? Frightening. Cost of procrastination: Money, Peace of Mind, Liability

Well, that concludes my top 10 list of areas where we shouldn’t procrastinate and the costs if we do. I hope some of them resonate with you, as they did with me as I was preparing to write about them. We all have so much to do that sometimes things just have to be put aside for a while. And that’s okay. As long as “a while” doesn’t turn into “forever” and we cost ourselves and our loved ones undue financial hardship and stress.

“Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the “last minute” before the deadline. (Wikipedia)”

Cindy Jobs

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

The Real Costs of Procrastination: Installment #1

Most of us do it every day. Procrastinate. We tell ourselves “I’ll get to that later” and most of the time we do. But what happens if we don’t? What if we procrastinate too long? What are the costs? We try to convince ourselves that there’s little-to-no cost of procrastination, but there are many costs, some very tangible, others more subtle.

Here’s the first 5 of my top 10 list of areas we shouldn’t procrastinate on and the cost if we do. Look for installment #2 next week.

Relationship support: How many times have we heard (in real life and movies) people bemoaning the fact that they didn’t tell their loved ones how much they meant to them and now it’s too late. Certainly, this is the worst-case scenario of procrastination. But what about the every day costs to our relationships that procrastinating causes: the partner that agreed to pick up the dry cleaning on the way home and procrastinates until the cleaner is closed; the parent who agreed to bake for the school event and procrastinates until it’s too late and disappoints their child by providing store-bought treats instead of the home-made they’d promised their classmates; the friend that promises to make a dinner reservation for a special event and procrastinates until the restaurant can’t accommodate the request. Yes, these are all small things, but significant in relationship-building. Cost of procrastination: Trust

Health: As a breast cancer survivor, I am keenly aware of the cost of putting off health-related appointments. I’m lucky I didn’t procrastinate too long, but without repeated, significant nagging from my doctor, I very well could have. Regular health screenings and preventative maintenance like flu and pneumonia shots are critical to our well-being so they shouldn’t be put off until we think there will be a more convenient time. I’ve heard that some people attempt to schedule all their medical check-ups on their birthday. What better gift could we give ourselves than the gift of good health? Cost of procrastination: Poor health.

Household Chores: I don’t know anyone that likes to clean the gutters. Cleaning gutters involves a ladder, dragging it around the house, possibly getting on the roof (I recommend hiring an expert if your gutters need to be cleaned from the roof), and smelly, wet leaves. And, as gutter-cleaning procrastinators, we generally end up doing it in the dark and in the rain because that’s when we notice that the rainwater is overflowing the drain pipes. Wouldn’t it have been much easier to have cleaned the gutters on a nice, sunny Saturday before the rain starts? From personal experience, I can tell you it is. It’s not just gutters we need to worry about. Not cleaning furnace filters will result in reduced productivity and higher energy bills. Not cleaning the dryer vents may results in a lint fire. Not checking the water softener will results in spotty glasses. The list goes on and on. Cost of procrastination: Stress, money and safety

Home/Car Repairs: Things break. It’s a fact of life. Whether it’s the toaster, the sink, or the car, stuff just happens and we have to deal with it. The cost of not fixing or replacing a faulty toaster could be everything from just not having toast in the morning to getting shocked while trying to retrieve the toast with a kitchen fork (strongly NOT recommended!). The costs of not fixing a leaky sink could be just a minor annoyance to extensive damage caused by the leak damaging cabinetry or walls. The cost of not repairing squeaky brakes could be devastating to the health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones should the brakes fail. Cost of procrastination: Money, major home/car repairs, and safety.

Organization (my personal favorite): According to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns 55 minutes per day – roughly 12 weeks a year – looking for things they know they own but can’t find. (Newsweek, 6/7/04). As a professional organizer, my job is to help people get their home and business lives organized and under control. Disorganization manifests itself in many ways: wasted time because we can’t find things; finance charges because we didn’t pay our bills on time; late fees for not returning a library book or DVD; money wasted replacing things we already own because we couldn’t find them when we needed them; and trust because we didn’t finish a project on time due to dysfunctional time management. Being organized means we can find things when we need them; we can do the things we need to do when they need to be done; and we can get the places we need to get on time. Cost of procrastination: Time, money, and trust

The costs of procrastination can be everything from minor annoyances to the devastating loss of trust. Fortunately, procrastination can be managed. It requires scheduling, initiative, and a drive to do better, but it can be done.

The best way to stop procrastinating? Just get started. Getting started will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks are uncomfortable for us. Once we get started, we have the drive to finish.

Look for The Real Costs of Procrastination: Installment #2 next week.

Cindy Jobs

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever procrastinated starting a project, sending an e-mail, or cleaning a closet? I know my hand went in the air for all three of those things and I consider myself a pretty efficient and on-top-of-it-all kind of gal. At times we all succumb to the pesky practice of procrastination.

Why do we procrastinate?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow.
We work better under pressure.
We don’t have all the tools we need to get the project done.
The project is just too big.

How many more can you think of? Several, I’ll bet. I think we can all acknowledge that these are excuses, not reasons, for not getting things done. What’s the reality behind each of the above?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow: Well, we probably won’t. If we didn’t want to do it today, we more than likely won’t want to do it tomorrow. What’s going to change in 24 hours that will make the task more inviting and stimulating? Nothing. How successful are we at predicting how we will feel in the future? Generally, not very good. Plus, we don’t know what additional roadblocks may come our way that would cause an even more negative impact. What we need to do is think about why we are delaying starting the project, identify any emotional or physical roadblocks, then remove them. More than likely we stumble over emotional roadblocks due the uncertainty of how to accomplish the task. Postponing alone won’t resolve that roadblock.

We don’t have all the tools we need to get the job done: Well, maybe we don’t, but not having the tools readily at hand doesn’t mean we can’t start. What we CAN do is start the project by breaking it down into steps, identify what tools or resources you need to complete those steps, and make a plan to get started, including scheduling it on your calendar. Not having everything we need isn’t an excuse for doing nothing.

Do you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? I know I do. The key is determining what is holding you back and work through it. How do we do that?

Just Get Started

Although it sounds simple, sometimes that’s all it takes. Just getting started will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks are uncomfortable for us, so once we get started, we have the drive and desire to finish.

Look for my next installment: “The Costs of Procrastination”

There are many, many costs to procrastination, including professional, financial and emotional. All of which can be avoided.

Cindy Jobs