Beating procrastination is a common theme in business. Procrastination is a common problem that affects many businesses, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. In this week's podcast, I look at

• Firstly, what procrastination is
• Secondly why it happens
• Thirdly, how to reduce it
• Finally talk about the positive side of procrastination.

What Is Procrastination?

Procrastination is the tendency to avoid or delay necessary tasks or decision-making. It often comes from fear of failure, lack of motivation or interest in the task, or simply too many distractions. Procrastination can also be caused by negative self-talk from believing you can’t do the task or won’t make good decisions with it. In business settings, procrastinating on tasks can lead to missed deadlines and decreased productivity.

Why Does It Happen?

There are several reasons why people procrastinate. Common reasons include

• fear of failure
• lack of motivation and interest in the task at hand
• perfectionism (striving for unrealistic goals)
• anxiety about making decisions
• believing that you don’t have enough time to complete tasks in a timely manner.

How To Reduce Procrastination And Increase Productivity In Your Business:

There are several ways to reduce procrastination in your business and increase productivity so that tasks will get done on time. One strategy is breaking down large projects into smaller steps that are easier to manage and complete within a reasonable amount of time. Setting specific deadlines for yourself and others involved in the project can help as well. Reducing distractions such as emails and social media can also be helpful in avoiding procrastination. Finally, rewarding yourself with small incentives after each task can help motivate you to continue working on them until they are completed.

Why Procrastination Can Be Positive:

Procrastinating has negative consequences such as missed deadlines or decreased productivity.  However,  it doesn’t always have to be viewed as a bad thing. Taking time out of your day to step away from work can give you a chance to reflect on what needs to be accomplished.  Furthermore, you come up with creative solutions for problems you may encounter while completing tasks. Additionally, taking a break can give you a chance to clear your head.  When you return back to work your mind is better focused than before giving you more energy when tackling long-term projects or difficult tasks. Lastly, having an accountability partner who checks up on your progress consistently can encourage you stay on track with your goals and tasks throughout the day.  This stops you becoming distracted by other activities or projects instead of finishing what needs to be done first before starting something new.

Conclusion and good to know

Overall, Beating procrastination in your business is key for any successful business owner or entrepreneur. You gain valuable insights into how well your company is performing financially.  As a measure of true financial success, it lags behind profit.

The I Hate Numbers podcast covers a range of topics to help serious business owners thrive, let alone survive.  From financial storytelling to tax, and more!  Every episode provides actionable advice from me, business finance coach, accountant and educator. Subscribe to keep in touch, contact me if you want my help for your business

Are you a small business owner, social enterprise or organisation passionate about change? Managing your finances can be a lot of work, trust me.  Finally, there’s software that makes keeping track of your cash flow and financial planning easier: Numbers Know How.

Procrastination is seen as the bane of many business. Causing missed deadlines, unfinished projects, and wasted time. However, procrastination isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it can be positive. It's a sign that you need to take a break and recharge your batteries. In this week's I Hate Numbers Podcast, I'm going to explore how you can reduce.

Procrastination in business, but also discuss why procrastination can actually be good for you.

You are listening to the I Hate Numbers Podcast with Mahmood Reza. The I Hate Numbers Podcast mission is to help your business survive and thrive by you better understanding and connecting with your numbers. Number love and care is what it's about. Tune in every week. Now. Here's your host, Mahmood Reza.

Hi folks. Welcome to another weekly episode on I Hate Numbers. This is the podcast with a mission to improve your financial understanding, help you win more battles than you lose that goes on between your, help you and your business make more money, save tax, and time. What's not to love about that combo?

Let's crack on with the podcast. Before we dive into sharing tips about procrastination, let's make sure we are okay and comfortable with what procrastination is. It's where we are delaying tasks, putting them off. We, in our own minds, might think it's good reasons, but we still delay those tasks that are necessary, whether it's getting an invoice out of the door to our clients,

whether it's completing a project, a marketing funnel, perhaps a marketing activity, whether it's doing that necessary admin, procrastination is an endearing part of business life. But why does it happen? Why does it occur in the first place? Well, for many people, procrastination is a response, and it's a response to stress or anxiety that we're feeling. When we,

as business people are feeling overwhelmed, our brains are our friends and what they do, they will shut down and we are gonna find ourselves scrolling through social media instead of doing our own work. Who hasn't looked at a cat video? However, procrastination can also be as a result of being bored or lacking motivation. Easily done.

Been there myself. Now, if we don't find our work interesting, we are less likely to want to do that. You think about any tasks that you've experienced, so whether that's on the domestic front in terms of cleaning, in terms of doing those domestic chores, we are less likely to want to do them cuz we don't see them as very exciting.

We see them as quite mundane. But they've got to be done nevertheless. Now, the good news is there are lots of ways to reduce procrastination and increase productivity in your business. Who doesn't want that? I'm never gonna share some tips with you to help get things done. Now, these aren't in any numerical order of importance here, but these are great tips that we should listen to and take on board.

Tip number one: break those tasks into smaller steps, what we might call microsteps. One of the biggest reasons why we procrastinate, we look at the task ahead, we look at the enormity of that task, and we get overwhelmed by that. So what we need to do is to not look at the task in its entirety, but to break it down into smaller

subtasks. By breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps, we can make it feel less daunting. If we take the example of sending an invoice out to a client, task one might be just to make sure we create the template for that invoice, put the information necessary, and then if there are things to check, save it as a draft, come back to it, but make sure we send it out nevertheless.

So look at the tasks that you've got in hand. Break them down into smaller steps and see each one as a discreet task in its own right. The accomplishment of those microtasks will give us a much bigger, positive feeling and enable us to not procrastinate as much. Tip number two. Give yourself deadlines when things aren't deadlined,

when we don't have a timeframe in mind and things are left, very open-ended things will have a habit of drifting. So deadlines are a great way to motivate yourself to get things done, but make sure your deadlines are achievable and give yourself enough time to complete the task itself. Don't set yourself too long cause it'll just drift and you'll do things last.

Don't make it too ambitious that you're gonna achieve it and turn it around very quickly. So make sure it is a smart deadline. Tip number three, reduce and minimize your distractions. All of us will get distracted by a whole variety of things from the emails buzzing, from the phone notifications going from the noise.

So what you need to do, turn off your. I know that might feel difficult, but do it nevertheless. Close your emails down, turn off the notifications. Shut the door to your office, and anything that is not imperative, not life-threatening or critical can wait and it should wait. Tip number four, reward yourself.

If you are doing a task and you complete that task, there's no reason why you shouldn't reward yourself for doing so. Whether it's a cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate, a slice of cake. Make sure you have something that means something to you, and when you complete that task, make sure you reward yourself as well.

It's a great way to have carrot and stick working in harmony. Another tip, tip number four is to reframe the task and look at it as a positive step - a positive thing you're doing and not a necessary evil, not something that's boring or stressful. Everything you do in your business has a purpose behind it, or it certainly should have a purpose.

It has a purpose to help you achieve your end objectives. Those end objectives, that Northern Star, could be a financial outcome and it should be. It could be generating new business. It could be new client base. It could be just making your business more efficient. Whatever that end goal is, all the tasks that you're completing helps you get towards that end point.

So look at it as a positive step. As much as somebody going to the gym, they might want to have the outcome of being particularly healthy, fit those nice pecs or whatever your outcome is. But all the reps that you're doing, is the necessary steps to get to that end point. So reframe them and don't look them as negative.

Look them as positive outcomes. Our tip number six is find somebody that can be your accountability buddy. Your accountability partner. Working with someone who can hold you accountable for how much progress you're making is a great way to reduce procrastination is a great incentive. Now, obviously, choose somebody you trust.

Choose somebody who works within your space or knows the challenges of running a business and who's gonna encourage you to stay on track. You can also do the same for them. Look in your network, put a shout out on Facebook or LinkedIn or whatever your social media platform is. Look within your mailing community, and there'll be somebody in there who will probably bite your hand off for that offer.

Now, having shared those tips, having looked at what procrastination is, normally procrastination is seen as a negative force in business. It impacts on productivity, impacts on getting things done, and it does have a time impact as well as a financial impact. But remember, it can also be a force for good.

Procrastination is a sign that you need to take a break and recharge those batteries. If you're feeling overwhelmed, it is perfectly fine. Take a step back and do something that brings you joy, that gives you some degree of elation. Now, this could be as simple as going for a walk, having a cup of tea. Be careful on that cake,

by the way, we wanna preserve that waistline of yours, but whatever it is, you need to listen to your body. You need to listen to what your brain is telling you and see that as a sign that you need to actually get some fresh air, have a cup of tea, do something away from your desk. Now, procrastination is a common problem in business, but it's not insurmountable.

It's not impossible to resolve it and to get around that. I myself, have experienced and still occassionally do procrastination. It's an inevitable part of running your own business. Now, if you break those tasks down into smaller steps, set achievable deadlines, reduce your distractions, reward yourself, reframe what those tasks are, seeing 'em as positive steps to get into your Northern Star and find an accountability partner, you can reduce your procrastination and hey, bingo,

you've increased your productivity as well. Remember also, it is okay to take a break if it's needed, and you balance work with self-care, self-preservation, wellbeing, you will stay focused and productive without losing your mind. Folks, I hope you found this podcast of use. I'd love it if you could give it an endorsement, give it a thumbs up. Comments,

feedback, do great things to make it more shareable with others. How do you reduce your procrastination? Until next time, folks see you on the other side. We hope you enjoyed this episode and appreciate you taking the time to listen to the show. We hope you got some value. If you did, then we'd love it if you shared the episode.

We look forward to you joining us next week for another I Hate Numbers episode.