Page 149 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

Powerful Behavioral Techniques to Curb Procrastination 117

work with fewer people. Productivity may be measured by what a
person does in an hour, and organizations typically shoot to get
more done per productive hour. When you measure productivity
against time standards, then increasing productivity follows effi-
cient and effective time use.
Different jobs have different productivity expectancies. When
they are applied to medical environments, production-line meth-
ods can detract from the quality of care. However, managed-care
insurance companies rely on cutting down on the amount of time
spent in physician-patient contacts and shortening the amount of
time that it takes to process paperwork. This routine discourages
the majority of new medical school graduates from going into
primary care, where managed care can seem oppressive. It also
increases the risk of burnout when one may feel like he or she is
acting like a machine. From the perspective of a managed-care
insurance company, one physician can be replaced by another, so
burnout is a minor consideration. From a social and professional
perspective, this is a serious waste of a finite resource, making this
form of time management a nearsighted practice.
If you are a teacher, doubling the pace of your presentations
may increase student burnout. Learning is a cumulative process,
and developing new knowledge and skills is complex and takes
time. However, a teacher may gain by avoiding procrastination on
correcting assignments and planning lectures. Efficiencies gained
in processing paperwork open more time for leisure activities.
In your daily life, keeping an eye on time can save costs. You
avoid missing deadlines where you could face a stiff fine. You re-
pair the roof before you also have water-stained ceilings to contend
with. You fix your leaky car radiator before you have to replace a
seized engine.
Maintenance delays reflect procrastination more than time
management. Avoiding a crisis makes sense. However, procrasti-
nation can have a stronger magnetic pull. Here the issue isn’t so
much saving time as keeping yourself out of hot water. This is