Procrastinate? Try this.

A while back, I explained in my user manual that my creative process - to my own annoyance and frustration - involves procrastination. The juices just. will. not. flow until I feel a blazing fire right under me (pretty sure this involves some adult onset ADHD). I've fought this trait for over a decade of my career and seven years of higher education. The unfortunate reality is my procrastination is here to stay, so I have learned how to plan for it and adapt so that I still produce my best work.

One of the things I use to help me prioritize and focus is called the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. The matrix plots out tasks based on two factors: urgency and importance. You'll find plenty of images of the matrix if you google it because nobody owns the intellectual property, but most versions look something like this:

It's a pretty simple framework, right? Urgency on the X axis, importance on the Y axis. Do the tasks that are urgent and important, schedule time to complete the tasks that are important but not urgent, delegate what's urgent but not important, and eliminate what's neither urgent nor important.

The Delegate box doesn't sit quite right with me because I don't think anyone should delegate an unimportant task, even if that task is urgent. If a task is unimportant, it's unimportant, full stop. I think a better way of getting at what the matrix is trying to convey is to define the Delegate box as "urgent but low priority." So my tweaked version looks like this:

Is the matrix a perfect solution to procrastination? Of course not, because there isn't a perfect solution to procrastination. But I find it useful when I have a lot on my plate and need to prioritize my time and resources. It helps me remember where I should be focusing when my ADHD is tempting me to complete quick and unimportant tasks to give myself a false sense of productivity.

I'll leave you with a few other suggestions on how to tackle procrastination, lest you think it's a death sentence to someone's career.

1. Internally, spend some time examining your procrastination to figure out how you can work with it. Personally, I have discovered I have super powers in relationship management and cross-functional collaboration. Those are two things which, for some reason, are unprocrastinate-able to my brain. I think it's because other people's work is directly involved and I *HATE* letting someone down. I've also discovered I do really well in fast-paced environments where I have hard deadlines I can't ignore. I turn into a work-horse when there's a giant pile of stuff to complete, and that's an asset.

2. Externally, use radical candor and be clear about what you need. Make sure you ask for specific deadlines from your boss (no, "anytime in the next week" will not be fine). Communicate with supervisors about your workload and how you plan to handle it. This is important for everyone, but especially for procrastinators. A flurry of activity right before a deadline might be just another day for you, but it can be terrifying for your boss, especially if the working relationship is new and you're learning how to trust each other.

3. Do yourself a favor and search for Adam Grant's work on procrastination. Grant is a world-renowned organizational behaviorist and one of my favorite social media follows. I recommend starting with this op-ed and this podcast episode.

4. If you supervise a procrastinator: set them up for success. Don't try to change them or micromanage. Procrastination will most likely result in more creative employees (see Grant's op-ed), so let your employees procrastinate responsibly. If this makes you uncomfortable, manage your discomfort with casual, routine progress checks. If they prove unworthy of the trust you place in them, that's a different story. But if they do good work, let them be.