ALIA West

September 2005

Structured procrastination: what is it, why do we do it, and what can we do to stop it?

Do you give 100 per cent every day? Perhaps more importantly, do you devote 100 per cent of your energy to the right things? Do you get to the end of the day and feel satisfied of a job well done, or is there a little twinge of guilt that you could have done just a little bit more?

I'm sure you have at least one 'to do list' sitting on your desk right now. If you are anything like your neighbours and colleagues, you probably have several lists - one for work, one for home, one in your briefcase just in case you forget where you put the other lists you created last week, and a list of things you need to do 'when you get the time'. The thing is, lists are easy to create, they are also easy to lose, easy to overlook, and easy to forget about when other more urgent items get dropped on your already over flowing desk.

So why do we spend a lot of time creating something that very rarely works? Well there are a lot of reasons, not least of which - having a list means that we can create structure and form out of the chaos that is our desks. We know what we need to do, and we know when we need to have it done by. The problem with most lists, is that there is always something far more exciting to do further down the list rather than the item that sits at number one - which is now important and urgent by the way. We reason that in order to get into the right frame of mind needed to tackle the item that is at number one spot, we'll do one of the other items on our to do list, and then we will get around to the number one item. Except of course, we very rarely do, until someone, somewhere (usually the boss) asks where the item is. All of a sudden, the important and urgent item becomes important, urgent and overdue. We work late into the afternoon and evening to produce whatever it is that we need to produce. People (especially the boss) can see us working feverishly away, and reason that we must be very busy, because we are always working so hard.

And because you were able to produce something (OK it wasn't up to your best standard, but hey you simply ran out of time), this reinforces your belief that you work best under pressure, so instead of starting right away on the next item on the list, you take time out to congratulate yourself on a job well done, perhaps taking time to read the paper, make a cup of coffee, talk to people about how busy you are and so the cycle starts again.

Believe it or not, this is a form of structured procrastination. We put off doing something we ought to do, usually by doing something else simply because we can. And because you are still producing something, you can create the illusion that you are busy and productive, when in reality all you are is busy. You may deceive yourself into thinking that your working day has structure and purpose, you have managed to cross some of the items off your list after all. But I am sure that if you were truly and brutally honest with yourself you will know that you haven't achieved what you set out to do today at all.

One of the best ways to get rid of structured procrastination is to remove temptation from your working life. It has been said 'the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. The problem is that it takes about eight uninterrupted minutes for our brains to get into really creative state.' So how can you deal with this problem? One of the easiest things to do is to turn off the e-mail message window that pops up every few seconds distracting you from whatever it was you were supposed to be doing. Set aside a few minutes at certain points during the day to respond to messages, and discipline yourself to turn the electronic mail off again, after you have done so.

Another simple solution to getting more out of every day is to write down what you have done. Carry a notebook, or create a simple spreadsheet that gives the time that you started a task, and the time that you completed it. This personal record should give you a very quick and clear indication where you are spending your time and energy. Once you have this information you can determine if you really ought to be spending so much time talking with a colleague about your weekend plans, rather than on your projects. And this technique can be extended to cover your home life too. Do not judge your actions, simply make a note of how you spend your time, then you can decide if you really ought to be watching another TV programme, or whether you should work on your job application. The choice as they say is yours.

So what have you been putting off doing today?

Lorraine Bradshaw works for Information Enterprises Australia (IEA), a specialist library and records management recruitment agency, consultants and trainers in Western Australia. For permanent staff placements and short-term labour hire solutions.

Lorraine is the current editor of the Australian record retention manual and is the author of IEA's free monthly e-zine Information overload.