Procrastination isn’t the problem, it’s the solution. So procrastinate now, don’t put it off. (Ellen DeGeneres)
What to learn from procrastinators
My son and daughter put off doing their summer homework. When they only had 3 weeks to get it done there were more problems. They also had band camp taking up 10+ hours a day. After they procrastinated the hard part of summer that long I was telling them…..
“Procrastinating can be a good thing.
“First of all, I hope you procrastinated to get important things done. If you did, then you used your time wisely. Use this experience to learn to do first things first. (That is very important for job hunting.)
“Second, you should be letting less important things stay undone now that you are up against a nearby deadline. Learning to NOT do good but less important things is just as important as doing “first things first.” (Job hunters often do repetitive, less productive, easy tasks. Stop it. You don’t have to do them.)
“Third, your quality should be high now, and you should pay attention to what works and doesn’t work for shortcuts. Now is when you learn how much research is essential, and what research is just being done to avoid the hard work. Now is when you find out you really can do a quality job in 8 concentrated hours rather than 4 full leisurely days.” (Job hunters often research a company for hours when all they need to know is that it is in the same industry. They do heavy research so they can make less phone calls and send less resumes, which is more painful than surfing the internet.)
Think about all the schoolwork, studying, and commercial work you have procrastinated and gotten done at the last minute. How much time did you save by having your back to the wall? How many tasks that were more important have you gotten done? What tasks just disappeared with time?
Now apply those lessons to job hunting. Give yourself tight deadlines to get tasks done. Instead of procrastinating, give yourself too little time to get tasks done, then fit them in the time you have given yourself. Learn from the times you procrastinated.
Something To Do Today
Be your own boss. Set a goal for how many companies you will call today. That is a high priority job search activity. How many resumes will you send out on ads? How many resumes to companies in your industry or geography?
Learn from your prior procrastination.
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Later: More procrastination