Do this, Not that – Overcoming Procrastination

As I sit here at my desk with yet another article deadline staring me in the face, I can’t help but wonder if I’m the only one who is plagued by the appealing face of procrastination. Procrastination lures me away from my daily tasks and whisks me off to friend’s houses, shoe stores, movie theaters and wine bars. I believe this character flaw can be attributed to owning my own business. As large design agencies close their doors due to a poor economy, more and more individuals are starting independent agencies or freelancing. While the pros far out way the cons, I’ve discovered being your own boss has its disadvantages. Sometimes you simply must have a boss breathing down your neck for your next article, logo, website or package design. There’s nothing worse than setting your own deadline.  So, for the purpose of getting this article done, I’m going to give you my do’s and don’ts of procrastination, a subject I feel well equipped to tackle.

First of all, there must be a deadline. Many times my clients will dictate the deadline, however there are times when my clients say, “just get it done whenever you can.” This is the kiss of death. Don’t fall for this trick, because they don’t really mean it. They will inevitably call you in two days and ask for your progress. So, all that time you spent doing everything under the sun but your new assigned project will come back to bite you in the ass. When your client seems easy going and in no rush, simply press the subject by saying, “when would you ideally like this project to be completed?”  They will almost always give you a deadline, and it is at this point you realize you will need to work around the clock to achieve it, because their “whenever you can” translates to right now.

Bribing yourself is on the definite “do” list. I know this may sound barbaric, but everyone needs a little incentive. In order to get my dog to complete the most basic tasks, I give her a treat. As for myself, I keep stashes of chocolate truffles and bottles of red wine in my desk drawer just in case I need a little motivation. After I finish one page of a website, I give myself a truffle. After I finish an entire project, I give myself a bottle of wine. Yes, I’m a little overweight and could be considered an alcoholic, but I have happy clients.

If you’re procrastinating because you don’t have any new ideas then don’t sit in front of your computer and expect to become inspired. I mentioned in my last article that Nike’s “Just do it” slogan came from the last words of a man being executed. I’m not recommending you start frequenting executions, however, I will say, “Whatever works,”—perhaps a jog or a little yoga. I remember attempting to get inspired at a bar once; just for the record, it didn’t work. One glass of wine always leaves me feeling inspired, however I seem to never stop at one. Three or four glasses of wine puts me in a coma only to wake up and find I’ve missed the deadline altogether.

My last recommendation is to explore the company or product you are working with, but don’t go overboard. One of the greatest things about being in the design business is free product samples. My company recently had to name and design packaging for a new energy drink on the market. Our clients brought over their product as well as five others on the market. Believe it or not, there are about 500 trademarks that exist for energy drinks. After this discovery, procrastination set in. I had no idea what to name the new energy drink, so I thought it would be a great idea to do a massive taste test. My logic was, if I drank enough energy drinks it would inspire me to create an exciting and unique name. My logic failed and I haven’t had another energy drink since. We’ve tested out luggage on camping trips, had a makeover party for a new make-up line and a cookout to test a new grill—all of these, very bad ideas. As a rule of thumb, if your idea ends in the word party or trip, it’s not going to be productive. Like I said, get familiar with the product but don’t go overboard.

For me, procrastination sets in when I don’t have creative ideas—when I hit a wall. At this point, even training to run a triathlon sounds better than sitting down at my computer to work. After all, we create things for a living, so typically if we have a great idea, we can’t wait to put it down on paper. My do’s and don’ts are pretty basic: bribe yourself, get familiar with the product or company, change your location if necessary and set a deadline. If you’re creative enough, you might even be able to finish a project— say an article—without ever coming up with a topic.