Procrastinating Too Much? Here are 7 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting the Tasks Done

A study just a few years ago found that the average employee spends around 2 hours a day engaging in non-work related activities. This could be logging into your Facebook and Twitter accounts, making multiple trips to the break room to make yourself a cup of coffee, or just spacing off. In all, procrastination costs companies around $10,000 a year per employee! That’s a lot of lost productivity! If you aren’t getting your work done on schedule, here 7 possible reasons for it, along with suggestions for overcoming the problem.

1. Your Time Management Skills Aren’t Up to Par

So you’ve got a project due next week. “That’s seven full days! No problem,” you say. Then seven turns to six as you spend the evenings watching Netflix, socializing, or working exclusively on secondary projects of lower priority. Still plenty of time. Then five days become four…and you still haven’t started or are woefully behind schedule. “Let’s not forget that I’ve got the weekend as well,” you tell yourself. As the deadline approaches, your stress levels increase and since it is now a rush job, it affects the quality of your work.

How to fix this: Develop a schedule and stick to it! If you have a relatively lengthy time frame in which to complete the task, pace yourself. For instance, select a 2-hour period each day in which you will dedicate yourself entirely to that particular assignment, don’t diverge and don’t try to justify putting it off.

2. You Are an Extreme Perfectionist

As you’re tackling a task, you expect to be satisfied with the outcome. However, if you’re too much of a perfectionist, this often means you won’t even get started until you are confident that it will turn out the way you expect. This problem is especially common if you’re working on something new or different from what you typically do. As a result of your concerns, you put off the work, which in the end will guarantee that the task doesn’t live up to your high standards.

How to fix this: It is important to accept that you might not achieve perfection. Go in with the mindset that you are doing your absolute best, and if you are sincerely putting in the effort you should never be disappointed with the outcome.

3. You Don’t Have the Right Skills or Knowledge For the Task

Whether you are a people pleaser who can’t say “no” to a project or are convinced that you can succeed in every task no matter the requirements, you will often find yourself in a situation where you’re way over your head. It’s obviously impossible to work on a project if you don’t know where to begin or lack the knowledge to complete it. Of course, once the deadline passes and you still haven’t finished the job or turn in something incomplete, your organization will not be very happy.

How to fix this: Chances are, your employer won’t give you a task if they aren’t certain you’re up to it. So don’t try to convince them otherwise. Be honest with yourself and understand what you are and aren’t capable of. Ask them for projects that are more suited to your skill set and experience. If you are looking to improve your abilities, offer to assist a more seasoned colleague and learn the ropes before taking on similar assignments yourself.

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