There is one thing never to say when it comes to leadership- “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Most of us live under the assumption that tomorrow is guaranteed, but it never is. What is guaranteed is that if you leave for tomorrow the important things, I can assure you that something can and will arise to need your immediate attention. The task you left for tomorrow will get bumped to the bottom of the list, or even forgotten completely. It took me a long time to learn this lesson. I was guilty of procrastination, and as a side effect I had the tendency to over-commit as well as the mindset that I had to do it all myself.
When I was was still in the role of operator, instead of owner (a topic for another day), I placed all the orders, I handled the payroll, did the bookkeeping, human resources, going to the bank, scheduling, inventory, hiring the list goes on…I was often in the place of overwhelm. I finally got tired of learning the lesson that procrastinating would be the dog that bit me time and time again after repeated lessons. Lessons like “I’ll place my orders tomorrow.” and tomorrow when I come in my opening baker overslept and we are short staffed and I am on the front line until 2 pm, well after the cut-off time to get my orders placed. Or lessons like “We are totally staffed, I don’t need to interview this candidate.” and just a few days later someone quits. How about “I’ll do the check run tomorrow” and tomorrow I forget and get caught up and days go by, then my landlord calls to see why they haven’t gotten the rent check!
It was a lot of lessons like this, and unlearning the mindset I had that “I work well under pressure”. The opposite of procrastination is anticipation. Anticipate that you will NOT have more time tomorrow or later or this afternoon. Leadership is the ability to look around the corner and anticipate what’s coming. To see more, and to see before.
If you make a list of your tasks or projects or to-dos, what happens? Most of us, when we look at our list or agenda, do the easiest first. Or if not the easiest, the one we enjoy the most (or least dread!) In reality 20% of the items on your list will garner 80% returns, and those 20% are where you should start. And don’t forget the important things that prevent the urgent things from appearing. It’s important to pay your bills if you want to continue receiving product or services, its important to connect with your team if you want to build a positive culture, its important to eat well in order to stay healthy. If you don’t take care of the important stuff, the urgent will begin to raise the red flag.