Whittaker Associates: Giving Information Meaning">Whittaker

by Joel Burgess

According the book The Power of Focus (Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Hewitt), procrastinating can be thought of as a form of self-castration. After all, to castrate means to impoverish or render ineffective. When you procrastinate you are impoverishing your future. Additionally, the word castrate is actually hidden within the word procrastinate.

Ouch! Even if it’s nothing but a painful play on words, this stark comparison is a reminder that putting off tasks that should be completed today inhibits our ability to succeed tomorrow.

So why do people procrastinate? They’re

1.) bored

2.) overwhelmed with work

3.) lacking in confidence

4.) suffering from low self-esteem

5.) doing work they don’t really enjoy.

6.) easily distracted or just downright lazy.

How can you overcome procrastination?

The book’s authors state two primary ways to motivate yourself:

1.) You can fear the consequences of not taking action or

2.) You can get excited about the rewards and benefits of being proactive.

The latter is definitely a better frame of mind to have than the former. Remaining positive is the best way to combat procrastination and act decisively. The next time you feel yourself putting off work that you know you shouldn’t, think of the easy-to-remember acronym: TA-DA.

TA-DA represents:

Think (self-reflection)

Ask (focusing questions)

Decide (making a decision is half the battle)

Act (GO!)

Remember, procrastination is having the Someday Syndrome . Someday I’ll do this, someday I’ll do that. The problem with this attitude is that at some point someday will cease to exist, leaving a life of regrets.

by Jordan Chanski

Before coming to Whittaker Associates, I was employed at a locally-owned furniture company as a warehouse supervisor. Known as a place where shoppers regularly became friends with salespeople, the store closed in December of 2005 after over a decade of serving the community.

During the closing process, a consulting firm was brought in to help liquidate our inventory. They brought in their own sales team, warehouse help, and management to replace most of our current staff. This changing of the guard did more than just alter the faces I worked with. It turned the once-friendly atmosphere of the store into one of stress and anxiety.

The laughter from the women in customer service that used to greet me as I punched in for the day was replaced by bickering between manager and assistant. Instead of a genuine “howya doin!” from our usual furniture repairman as I entered the warehouse, the welcome was a grunt and a nod. I found myself trying to avoid co-workers during the day to escape the awkward silence that followed them. As they picked up their last pieces of furniture, several repeat customers commented on the change that they had noticed.

I have seen first hand in the past year how great an impact the relationship between co-workers can have on an organization. Friendly work environments help keep employees motivated. They work harder, help each other grow, and are generally in better moods. This amiable atmosphere extends to customers as well. Whether it is a furniture store, a barber shop, or a corporate office, I would rather do business in a place where the employees visibly get along and enjoy what they are doing and where I personally feel comfortable.

I never thought about how something like the work environment could have an effect on a business, but both the internal and external impacts were very evident to me through this experience.