All too often we are told that procrastination is bad, that it affects productivity, and it basically saps time out of day, which could be better spent doing something worthwhile. Of course, for the most part, that explanation is very true. However, there are some situations in which procrastination can actually help, and when taking a little extra time to start something can give you chance to obtain more information overall.
Are you someone who sits at their office desk and procrastinates on a regular basis? It really depends to a large degree on your particular personality type in terms of whether you’re prone to regular procrastination, but this is certainly something which everyone does on occasion. If you have office furniture which isn’t comfortable, or a set up which doesn’t allow you the space to work freely, you’re also more likely to put tasks off until a later date, or never at all.
If you are someone who procrastinates on occasion, you certainly need to look towards cutting it down, but remember that it can be useful sometimes. Let’s explore those situations.
Procrastination can be helpful when waiting for further information
It can be useful to put off replying to an email or making a phone call if you think there is likely to be some further information to be revealed. For instance, if you’re dealing with a complaint in a call centre, you might think it’s the right course of action to reply to the initial message straightaway, to minimise the damage so to speak, but what if some extra useful information comes your way an hour later? You will then need to reply once more, and that’s time wasted. In this case, waiting just a little longer could be the key to a positive outcome. Of course, high quality call centre furniture will also help you to be more organised when making such phone calls.
Procrastination can be useful when trying to buy some time
Okay, we’re not going to come right out and say it, but if you’ve made a mistake and you’re attempting to put it right, a little extra time is what you need! Perhaps you can’t lay your hands on a particular document, and you know it’s somewhere in your office storage furniture. Instead of jumping straight in and admitting you can’t find what you’re looking for, put it off for half an hour and search.
The chances are you will find it and disaster will be averted.
It is acceptable to procrastinate when you think a job could be done better with collaboration
Part of successfully completing a task is ensuring that it is approached in the right way. If you look at a particular task and you think that it could benefit from some collaborative work, e.g. brainstorming with a colleague who has a speciality in the area, then putting it to one side until that person is available is the right course of action. When he or she is free, you can do a spot of brainstorming, using office partition screens for privacy, and the outcome will be far higher in quality than it would otherwise have been.
Procrastination can help to boost your confidence when you need it
You might think that procrastination is all negative, but if you’re about to do a presentation, or you need to make a call that requires you to be super-confident, putting it off for ten minutes or so, until you can summon your inner confident self, could be the difference between success and a mediocre performance. In this case, ensure you have the right types of business furniture in your presentation room, give yourself ten minutes to do some deep breathing exercises, and your minor procrastination will pay off!
Being able to use procrastination in a positive way, without allowing it to always be negative is a useful tool to have. Of course, much of it depends on your personality and how well you manage your time. It’s a good idea to find out about your specific personality type, so you can maximise your strengths and work on your weaknesses. For many people, time management is a big problem, but by knowing when procrastination can actually help you out, you’re turning a problem into a plus point.