Time Management for Professionals: Improving Procrastination

In Observance of National Time Management Month in February

And so it is, as in many homes, a time of year when New Year's resolutions fall to the wayside. In honor of the traditional letting go of good intentions, February marks the beginning of an observance among busy professionals known as Time Management Month. It is during the month of February that many professional adults begin to realize costly habits, such as failing to prioritize and the never breaking habit of procrastinating, begin to creep back into daily living and working activities. In an effort to promote Time Management Month in February, the following are some basic time management guidelines for busy professionals when seeking to remedy procrastination.

First, procrastination. Simply defined, procrastination is the habitual tendency to ignore issues that need to be addressed while engaging in less meaningful activities. Procrastination, in the American population, is the number one basis for poor time management skills among professionals. Leading to laxed environments, managers who practice in routine procrastination methods often find an increase in work related stress and, in turn, miss important deadlines and, usually, are ineffective in managing employees. When questioned regarding the level or degree of procrastination, most working professional will state the project or deadline is missed simply due to a lack of enjoyment in the task itself.

In honor of Time Management Month, in February, active professional adults should take the first steps to ward off the forever ailing concept of procrastination. As a first step, the working professional adult should recognize procrastination is an issue to be dealt with. If procrastination at work is leading to missed important deadlines, a great deal of increased stress and a confused and unorganized employee staff group, then procrastination is a clear management issue.