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Key points
- Taking on simple tasks ASAP may lead to more work in the long run.
- Acting with haste can lead to wasted time, errors, and diminished productivity.
- To avoid pre-crastination we've got to manage the tension of a to-do list.
I’d been waiting for the email, and I read it the second it appeared in my inbox. Then I clicked open a new screen and fired off a response.
Boom. Done. Finito. I crossed "respond to editor's offer" off my to-do list as soon as I hit send.
That was a mistake.
This isn’t the only time pre-crastination has become a liability.
My desire to get things done as soon as they hit my inbox has contributed to errors, time wasted, and even tension with my family.
Wake-Up Call
“We have got to be in the car at 7 a.m.,” I announced to my husband and daughter the night before a college visitation. It was a two-hour drive and I didn’t want to be late.
I got up before my alarm and was ready to go at 6:45 a.m. Then I marched around the house hollering, “Let’s go, let’s get on the road.”
My husband and daughter did not appreciate the urgency.
“You said seven,” my daughter complained.
“Seven leaves us plenty of time,” my husband said.
We left at 7 a.m. and arrived right on time.
The Joy of Crossing Items Off
Completing the smaller tasks and crossing them off our lists feels good. According to Princeton neuroscientists, when we complete a less demanding task, the reward center of our brain is activated, producing that good feeling.
But crossing items off a list doesn’t mean we are working smarter or even accomplishing important tasks that move us closer to our goals.
The Pre-crastination Problem
Psychology professor and researcher David Rosenbaum coined the term "pre-crastination" and defines it as “the tendency to tackle subgoals at the earliest opportunity—even at the expense of extra effort.”
Like hastily sending an email without proofreading it.
That email response was a quick confirmation that I was agreeing to the editor's assignment. But I'd moved too quickly and I spelled the editor’s name wrong. Embarrassing.
Wired to Hustle
Rosenbaum claims that some tendency to pre-crastinate may be inherited from our earliest ancestors, who were conditioned to grab food or take care of their basic needs whenever they had the chance.
It may also be anxiety-driven. I often feel an underlying pressure to rush through things when faced with a busy schedule or a slate of deadlines. I don't want to forget items or run out of time to get it all done. So I do the things that seem quick and easy ASAP.
But this can cause me to work without considering if what I'm doing is necessary or even relevant to the ultimate goal. It also leads to sloppy mistakes and even more work.
For example, if you start the project before the team meeting, you may find in that meeting that you wasted time and energy because the scope of the project has changed.
In other words, if you send off an error-filled letter because you were trying to hurry and get it done, it probably won’t help you get the assignment.
Slow Your Roll
To counteract my tendency toward pre-crastination—and the anxiety that comes when I feel pressure, I’ve become more deliberate in how I manage my time.
Here are a few things I’ve done that have helped me manage my pre-crastination:
Prioritize. I now make a master to-do list for the week so I don’t have to worry about remembering things. Then, I choose three essentials to complete per day. That’s all.
After that, I put that master list in another place, upside down, on my desk and when I complete the three essential tasks, I may go back to the master and pick another item to tackle or do other non-essentials.
This helps me identify the priorities (Here’s a hint: It’s not everything. Not even most things). Often, when I look at the master list at the end of the week, the things that I have not crossed off weren’t all that important after all, or they no longer need to be completed. With just three essentials on my daily schedule, I feel less time stressed and more focused on the ultimate goal.
Pause. Once I finish a task, write the email, record the interview, whatever it is, I’ll move away from that thing. I’ll get up from the computer, take the dog out, or get a cup of coffee before I come back to that task. This distance physically slows me down so I am less apt to mark it complete, cross it off, or hit send prematurely.
When I come back, I'll look at it again and give it a final go-over before I consider it done. Do I wish I'd done that with the email today? Absolutely, because I probably would have caught my error.
Redefine progress. It’s easy to get trapped in the mindset that the more we get done the more successful we will be. That’s baloney.
To achieve any goal, we need to practice, train, study, experiment, and develop our skills and ideas. This takes time and effort. Rarely does this work lead to immediate and tangible results. Conceptualizing a book, for example, takes a lot of time and attention before it shows up in the polished words on a page.
Now, I schedule this development time into my day and recognize this as an essential part of moving the work forward. I define this as progress—though it rarely yields anything to show at the end of the day.
Don't skip this planning and pondering part of the task. It will save time and prevent you from doing unnecessary work.
Now, on my best days, I’m better at fighting the urge to quickly cross things off on my to-do list. I keep the list shorter, too, by scaling back tasks and delegating when possible. I'm also more mindful of enjoying the process and creating top-notch work rather than giving in solely to the drive to get something, anything done.
Usually.
Today, though, I will write another email apologizing for my hasty reply with the misspelled name.
Blame it on pre-crastination.
