Page 59 - Time Management

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Time Management
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Combating Perfectionism
Three simple questions should help you decide whether
your approach to a task is too “perfectionist”:
1. Is the payoff worth the effort you’re putting into it?
2. Is there actually a simpler, less time-consuming way to do it?
3. Are you neglecting other projects in order to make this project
“perfect”?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you’re probably
exerting more effort than the project either requires or deserves.
sonality traits, they can manifest themselves in very different
situations. If, for example, you tend to fear failure and you pro-
crastinate largely for that reason, you’ll procrastinate on any
task at which you might fear that you’ll fail.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you may
have the tendency to procrastinate embedded in your personality:

• While in school, did you usually cram before a test?
• Do you often put off returning a call to someone you
don’t like, even if it’s important?
• Do youb wait until you have dental problems to see your
dentist?
• Have you had an unintentional late finance charge in the
last three months?
• Do you wait until a deadline looms before beginning
important projects?

To defeat procrastination you need to put considerable ener-
gy into behavior change. Sound impossible? It’s not. A number
of proven and clear strategies can enable you to effect genuine
and lasting change.
External Forces
Even if you usually don’t procrastinate, your environment can
impose procrastination on you. Figure 4-1 gives, in the clear
unshaded boxes, the four typical external reasons for procrasti-
nation. This is not to say that psychological reasons aren’t
involved. There must be some. But unpleasant or overwhelming