Procrastination: the Sneaky Thief Stealing Your Small Business Success
We’ve all been there: putting something off for "later," only to discover that "later" has vanished and now you’re in full panic mode.
If you’ve ever watched a cat decide to take a nap instead of catching that pesky kitchen mouse, you know that procrastination doesn’t discriminate. Research shows that around 20% of U.S. adults are chronic procrastinators. That's more than the number of people dealing with phobias or clinical depression, but some lucky people may have both issues.
Fun times.
Procrastination isn’t just about putting things off until your proverbial house is on fire (or the house is overrun with rodents). Procrastination is a cat burglar that steals your time, energy, and opportunities and keeps you held in a bear hug of regret.
Not to be overly dramatic (Moi? Never) but procrastination isn’t just bad for your to-do list, it’s bad for your body, mind, spirit, future, career, friendships, and reputation.
The Serious Effects of Procrastination: The Carnage That Used to Be Your Honda
Procrastination might seem harmless at first, like a bear sneaking food from your garbage can because you didn’t close the garage door last night; but before you know it, it’s broken into the car you neglected to lock, and now you’re staring at the carnage that used to be your Honda.
Like Yogi ripping up your CRV, procrastination can seriously mess with your life and your work.
8 Ways Procrastination Is Stealing Your Small Business Success And What To Do About It.
1. Creating Limiting Beliefs: The Tortoise With a Negative Inner Monologue
Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Imagine if the tortoise kept putting off getting in the race because it seems too daunting, so he never even tries.
Every time you procrastinate, you feed a little voice inside your head that says, “I can’t do this.” At first, it’s just a whisper, but soon it’s a full-blown roar. Eventually, you start thinking that you just aren’t capable, and then you reinforce that belief with every task you put off.
How to stop procrastinating? Channel your inner hare (but, you know, without the overconfidence). Even slow progress is still progress. Don’t give up on yourself before you even start.
2. Missed Opportunities: Like a Squirrel Who Missed the Nut
Have you ever seen a squirrel hesitate just one second too long before grabbing that perfect nut? And then—bam—another squirrel beats him to it? Missed opportunities are like that. You wait for the perfect moment, and by the time you get moving, the moment has passed. Whether it's missing out on a business opportunity or missing a registration deadline for an important networking event, procrastination ensures you’ll regret the opportunities you didn’t take.
How to stop procrastinating on opportunities? Act quickly. Don’t wait for that magical "perfect moment"—it’s probably already gone, anyway. If you see the nut: grab it!
3. Sabotaging Your Goals: The Cat Who Never Left the Couch
You know that feeling when you have a big goal in mind, but the idea of getting started feels as challenging as removing a sleeping cat off your lap?
You can have the best intentions, but if you don’t take that first step, you’ll find yourself stuck under a furry creature, watching Netflix instead of achieving greatness.
How to stop procrastinating on goals? You have to do the one thing cats hate the most: get off the couch. Start small. That first step is like getting the cat to look at the door. Once you get started, momentum builds, and soon you’ll be ready to chase your goals like my cat, Rolo, chases his laser (like a mindless idiot, obviously).
4. Ruining Your Future: The Sloth Who Got Left Behind
Procrastination can be a future killer. Imagine a sloth trying to climb the small business ladder in a competitive market—he’s already behind, and every day he hangs around (literally) chilling on that ladder, the gap gets wider. Missed deadlines, unfinished projects, and no-show meetings will lead to low progress, missed opportunities, and maybe even the death of your business dreams.
No one wants a sloth in charge of getting a new business off the ground (unless your business is a very chill, sloth-friendly startup… in which case, I’m jealous).
How to stop procrastinating in your business? Commit to progress even if it’s small. Set incrimental deadlines instead of one final due date to monitor your progress and give yourself a dopamine hit from achieving smaller goals along the way. Assign a numerical value to your tasks and commit only to what you have capacity for. A sloth knows he can’t reach the top of the tree in an hour but he does have the energy, strength, and desire to get to those tasty lower branches for his dinner. Finally, avoid the temptation to chill when you know you need to keep moving. Your future will thank you.
Procrasti…what? Gib me treatos now, hooman.
5. Making Poor Decisions: The Dog Who Couldn't Choose Between Two Treats
Imagine a dog looking at two treats, but he’s too indecisive to pick one so he stands there until the treats mold and get thrown away. Sounds crazy, right? While it’s unlikely that your dog will find himself with this treat dilemma (he will snarffle down both treats in 2 seconds), we humans can procrastinate so long that a decision seems impossible.
And this delayed decision making often leads to the loss of something rewarding.
We either freeze and lose out entirely or we end up making rushed decisions, often based on fear or stress, instead of smart strategy. Whether it’s deciding between two yummy opportunities or figuring out which task to tackle first, procrastination can lead to bad choices or no choices at all.
How to stop procrastinating and make better decisions? Use a decision-making system, like “Must-Have,” “Should-Have,” and “Good-to-Have.” It’ll help you think clearly and feel confident making choices that maximize your rewards.
6. Damaging Your Reputation: The Silent Parrot
When people hire someone they expect them to do what they’re supposed to do. Simple, right?
Managers must manage, photographers must photograph, writers must write, sales people must sell, and parrots must parrot.
And a parrot who doesn’t deliver on his promise to parrot is a liability to the parrot brand.
If managers stop managing, they might get fired or demoted. If photographers fail to show up to photograph an event they get sued; and if you pay someone to write your website and they send back stick drawings instead, you’d not only demand your money back but you’d probably tell all of Facebook about it using numerous angry face emojis.
The point is—if your procrastination damages your brand or gets you fired, sued, or blasted on social media, you’re going to have a big problem. When people stop trusting you you’re about as useful to them as a silent parrot.
How to stop procrastinating and protect your reputation? Show up for yourself, your clients and customers, your team, and your reputation. Protect your value by prioritizing integrity in your business. Make realistic promises and keep them. And if procrastination kicks your butt from time to time, own the delay and communicate new timelines with humility to your clients and customers. You don’t have to be perfect but by approaching your procrastination challenges honestly, directly, and humanly, you’ll start rebuilding trust and credibility one squawk at a time.
7. Risking Your Mental Health: The Owl Who Stayed Up All Day
Putting off your to-do’s is a type of self-sabottage that can put your metal health at risk. Like an owl whoo (see what I did there?) stays up watching National Geographic all day through the window of the retiree down the street only to realize he should have gone to bed hours ago because now he won’t be able to see straight when he has to hunt tonight; the more you procrastinate the worse you feel and the harder it becomes to take action. It’s a vicious cycle that can easily lead to depression, anxiety, shame, and guilt.
How to stop procrastinating and protect your mental health? Don’t stay up all night (or day, if you are an owl). Protect your body’s natural need for rest, food, recreation, and connection. Break things down into achievable tasks, listen to your body when it tells you what it needs, and treat yourself with the same empathy and care you’d give to others. While your work is important, your wellness is, too.
8. Wasting Time: The Sad tale of the Cheetah Who Tried to Eat All the Gazelles
Whether you’re a cheetah who tries to eat an entire herd of gazelles at once, failing to identify the one he can catch and ending up without any dinner, or one that is so overwhelmed by the sheer number of gazelle options before her that she runs away and similarly starves; failure to make critical decisions can sometimes be life or death.
Thankfully, most of the decisions we have to make in a day aren’t as high stakes as they are in the animal kingdom, but decision paralysis can still lead to valuable time lost.
I often say, “Let little things be little things, and big things be big things and have the wisdom to know the difference.” By identifying which decisions are small things with low stakes and which are big things with high stakes, you can shake off the urge to try and eat all of your proverbial gazelles at once or to run from it all.
With the number of decisions in our days, (What will I wear today? What will I eat for breakfast? Will I do yoga this morning or later? What am I going to pack in little Johnny’s lunch tomorrow? Should I take my car for an oil change today? Do I need new winter boots? Should I take the dog to the groomer or try to cut his nails myself? And so on, and so forth…) it’s easy to procrastinate on big decisions because we are lost in the small stuff.
How to stop procrastinating and reclaim your time? Pre-decide like a boss and save your brainpower for important stuff.
Make small decisions ahead of time, or better yet, create habits so you don’t even have to think about it. Don’t waste the precious moments at the start of your day deciding the little things and your brain will be ready to focus on what’s really important.
Instead of procrastinating—plan tomorrow, tonight.
You’ll be more effective, and you won’t drain your energy debating what to do next. While you don’t have to pre-schedule every single hour, the less decisions you have to make on the spot, the more likely you’ll be able to make it to noon without overwhelming your brain.
Final Thoughts: Better to Be a Sloth than an Indecisive Cheetah
The effects of procrastination can sneak up on you like a ninja squirrel, robbing you of opportunities, relationships, and your peace of mind.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can break the cycle of procrastination and shame by starting small. It’s all about that first sloth step, baby.
Soon, you’ll have the momentum you need to channel your inner bear and swagger through those open doors.
You’ll become a determined squirrel grabbin’ dem nuts before someone else does.
With practice, you’ll be the kind of person who pushes an adorable sleeping cat off of your lap so you can get some sh*t done! (Important note: please do not report me to your cat overlord for giving this advice)
Eventually you’ll have the confidence and clarity to eat all of the best (business) treats that are offered to you before the offer goes away.
Then you’ll master the art of protecting your mental health with consistent self care and healthy habits that support easier decision-making.
While you guard your reputation and your future successes by committing to a sustainable plan that helps you get squawking when you need to squawk.
And in time, you’ll be able to embrace your inner tortoise.
Courageously taking small steps and letting the momentum of progress carry you forward (even if it’s slow) to your ultimate success.
About the author:
Elisabeth Kelly is natural procrastinator.
When she’s not writing for clients or on this blog, she can often be found underneath her enormous dog, Bird, trying to calm her anxiety or writing to-do lists in her journal and daily planner. To help avoid the weekly “oh no, I didn’t do anything today” panic attack she focuses on:
The One Thing: This is the only thing that absolutely has to get done in a day. It could be a huge project, an important goal, or just something that requires 100% focus. This is the task that gets undivided attention, no excuses.
The No Matter Whats: These are the non-negotiables, the sacred things that MUST happen each day. We’re talking about things like self-care, stretching, quiet time, reading at least 30 minutes (for pleasure), and spending time connecting with the people she loves. These aren’t “nice-to-haves”; they’re must-dos, and they go on the schedule, no matter how much Netflix calls her name.
Learn more about Elisabeth on the Strategically Elisabeth About Me page.