In my business and personal life, I’m a procrastinator. I often don’t get things done until the very last minute – and sometimes later. The resume-polishing way to describe this is “deadline driven,” but in reality, us procrastinators often find other distractions are more interesting than the important stuff. My question is – how often does procrastination improve the results when you do finally finish the work?

from Danielle Scott

The example is this blog. I’ve been trying to launch this blog for over a year now. It’s taken on different topics, priorities, and names as the months went by – but I never got it started. Now, as I think about it, I’m glad we didn’t launch it earlier: it wasn’t ready.

Our first ideas for this blog were very targeted: a blog for Office Managers, or one for the construction industry. But that’s not really me – or BuyerZone.

I’m not an office manager. BuyerZone is not in the construction business. While we have a lot to say to both of those audiences, that’s not who we are.

“Well who are you, then?”
Simple: business experts. We can help you get things done more effectively. This blog is going to draw on our expertise and yours to help fine-tune your day to day activities. Whether that’s something major like learning how to save money on a big purchase, or a minor tip like an Excel shortcut, it’ll be something useful for your business.

I don’t claim to be a total expert, yet. I’ve been writing about how to be a better business buyer for five years – enough time to get some insight, but I’m still learning. Fortunately I’ve been able to work with BuyerZone’s founder and rock star, Mie-Yun Lee, who’s been helping small businesses for two decades. And what I can do is hunt down and collect information that will help you in your day to day work.

When will I actually get around to that? Good question.

Learn to love procrastination
Procrastination isn’t the same as laziness: sometimes, it takes the form of working on more routine tasks, instead of those that demand real thought or creativity.  And used correctly, procrastination can help you be creative.

This blog is going to be better because I procrastinated starting it. Next time you’re stuck on a project that you just can’t seem to get started on, consider putting it aside and digging into something less taxing – see if your perspective changes: it may just be easier than you expect to dig in when you get back.

Have examples of procrastination that helped you in the long run? Let us know in the comments … when you get around to it.