How to Manage by Procrastination

Computerworld - You have been taught since childhood not to put off until tomorrow what can be done today. Conventional wisdom says to do it, and do it now! My experience as a project manager, however, indicates that procrastination works.

If you’re like me, you’ve found that roughly 90% of the outside-of-scope actions that people ask to have added to a project will be changed, dropped or completed by someone else before you can get to them. All you need to do is determine which items make up the 10% that can’t be avoided. That’s where management by procrastination can change your life.

To get in the right frame of mind and drive the theory home, quietly chant the following the next time you’re sitting through a boring meeting: Procrastinate, procrastinate. Put it off till it’s too late. S-T-A-L-L. Stutter, stop ... wait.

There isn’t much science behind my theory, but I’ve found that procrastination can be effective when others attempt to tack tasks onto your project. To make it work, you need to learn to identify tasks, prioritize them and deliver.

Identify. Many transient tasks areassigned during meetings. Someone will ask a question that results in the need for additional research, or the boss will want someone to follow up on an idea. Taking the time to really identify each task is the first step in weeding out the 90% that willmagically disappear. It involves more than just writing down whatever is asked.

First, you must confirm that what you heard was a request for action. The boss may have just been thinking out loud.

Second, make sure you’re the one he’s expecting to do it. Just because no one else is volunteering doesn’t mean you have to. If it isn’t obvious who would be the right person to do the task, ask.

Finally, put it in writing for review and approval. “Approval” in different settings can be anything from a verbal agreement to an e-mail confirmation, all the way to actual wet signatures. Choose appropriately.

So, to put this in the simplest terms, separate the real tasks from the fleeting ones by asking the following questions:

1. Did you just say what I think you said?


2. Are you talkin’ to me?


3. Could you sign here ... and here ... initial this ... and thumbprint there?

At this stage, it may look like procrastination has only brought us more work. We’ve taken time away from other things to create a list. Howhas this done us any good? you may ask.

Here’s how: By acknowledging the list, everyone has admitted that all the items on it are new and not part of the original scope. As a result, some items will be dropped as unimportant. Meanwhile, as project manager, you have allowed your team members to continue their work uninterrupted as you move to the second step.