Procrastinate or to delay or postpone action or put off doing something has to be fixed sooner rather than later, says an HR Resources Professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.

In his 30-page study that appeared in his January 2007 peer-reviewed Psychological Bulletin, Pies Steel says 95% of the population procrastinates at all times. He also says that In 1978, only about 5 percent of the American public thought of themselves as chronic procrastinators but by 2007 that figure had become 26 percent. Latest numbers shows this has increased even more.

Why is this? More diversions could be part of the answer. Social media and access to digital entertainment certainly pays a large part. There are so many more ways to see documentaries, films, TV series as well as get fixated on reality games such as “Fortnite”. Streaming services such as Hulu, HBO, Netflix, Amazon Video and You Tube continue to fragment Cable TV’s once dominant viewing source and also provide more procrastination opportunities.

We all procrastinate to some extent or other, it’s human nature. Physiologists suggest there are a number of reasons for this. Apart from the numerous distractions there is the quest for perfectionism, fear of the unknown, experiencing a lack of motivation and being unclear about how to get started. But all these can be overcome with regular focus and accountability on what matters to the business.

How? By introducing Meeting Pulse into our business lives, for us and others. There are two components of having a Meeting Pulse. The first is the meeting itself, which includes the stated objectives and agenda. The second component is its frequency or how often you meet. In the first graphic below, after the meeting A, most people procrastinate until just before meeting B to get the important stuff done. Introducing a Meeting Pulse will change that behavior.

So in the second graphic, the leadership team hit the ground running with focus and energy maintained until the next meeting. The more frequent the focus in those meetings the less the procrastination.

I always recommend that organizations use the EOS Meeting Pulse™ for three reasons:

 

1. A regular meeting timing creates internal schedules and increases the problem solving mindset in the organization.

2. Regular check-ins with progress ensures everyone is accountable for their projects and improves overall transparency.

3. Every organizational team needs time to work ON their business, not always IN it.

A regular Meeting Pulse is long and short term. Short term is a weekly level 10 meeting™: The organizational leaders sit down once a week for 90 minutes to discuss tactical issues and work toward quarterly goals, spending most of the time solving issues.

The quarterly meeting is where the leaders sit down for a full day once per quarter to review the Vision/Traction Organizer™, review the previous 90 days, and decide on Rocks for the next 90 days.

And then the Annual Meeting when the leadership team takes two full days off-site to review the last 90 days, review the V/TO™, set annual and quarterly goals, and solve strategic issues

By instituting a Meeting Pulse into your organization you can prevent procrastination and therefore increase the efficiency and effectiveness throughout your system.