BANZA January 2016 Issue | Page 69

12. Under-planning With that being said, you should take time to strategize before attempting to achieve any long-term goals. Trying to come up with the endgame of a project you're doing midway through the process can be extremely frustrating and waste a huge amount of time. Harvard lecturer Dr. Robert Pozen recommends that you first determine what you want your final outcome to be, then lay out a series of steps for yourself. Once you're halfway through, you can review your work to make sure you're on track and adjust accordingly. 13. Perfectionism More often than laziness the root of procrastination is the fear of nothing doing a good job, says British philosopher and author Alain de Botton. "We begin to work only when the fear of doing nothing at all exceeds the fear of not doing it very well … And that can take time," he writes. The only way to overcome procrastination is to abandon perfectionism and not fuss over details as you move forward. Pretending the task doesn't matter and that it's OK to mess up could help you get started faster.