I am fairly sure that everyone knows what procrastination is. It is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. I broke the word down into syllables and came up with my own definition; Pro – a professional; Crass – lacking intelligence, stupid; Nation (Old French from Latin) – by birth; or, the profession of stupidly avoiding the birth of success! As funny or strange as that may seem, there is much truth in my ridiculous statement.

Some say, “Oh I work well under pressure and I will get it done in time!” But, generally they don’t and it is their way of justifying putting things off. Many times, people are so afraid that their decisions will be wrong, they paralyze themselves and don’t act at all.

Perfectionists are often procrastinators. It is psychologically more acceptable to never tackle a task than face the possibility of falling short on performance. Procrastination can lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression and self-doubt. It usually happens when people fear or dread the important task awaiting them. Procrastinators also end up with higher stress, reduced quality of family life, and could have more illness.

Now, let’s look at your business. Has you procrastination stymied your growth? Are you still in the same spot and just can’t seem to grow at all? Since you have made a few bad decisions, are you now afraid that if you do anything that it will be wrong? If that is the case, you are not alone. I see it way too often – you’ve been in business for 10 years and consistently do the same amount of business every year; barely getting by; not doing enough business so you can invest in it to grow; and, you are actually making less now due to rising costs.

Quit procrastinating! Just do something. Anything is better than doing nothing. I know of no one that was an overnight success. They just kept plugging away making mistakes, correcting, making another decision and it got better; then another bad decision, then a good one; then they looked up one day and had a good, successful business. I believe you have to make your number of mistakes before you gain success. Everyone has a different number of mistakes to make. Procrastination delays the process. You are defeating yourself when you procrastinate. That is why you keep moving, making decisions, no matter what. That is why you cannot ever give up.

Here is the formula. Procrastination = Delayed Success. I have a few clients that were procrastinators and they have improved. I have to keep pushing them to success. It is what I do. I don’t think any of them are upset with me telling them the truth. If you want to improve your business, even if you are a procrastinator, call me now. The procrastinators say they will call tomorrow…. I will help you find success in your future.

The Plumbers Coach. Detailed personalized business coaching and training for plumbing contractors. Like us on Facebook/ThePlumbersCoach, follow us on Twitter @T_PlumbersCoach, and on LinkedIn @KeithGlass15.