‘Last Minute Syndrome’

‘Last Minute Syndrome’ is a condition in which we tend to push the tasks closer to
the finishing time with some self-validating reasons however it often creates chaos
and stress in our life. In return this gives birth to a crucial behavioural problem of
‘Procrastination’ which is an enemy of Time Management.
The Latin word, ‘Pro’ meaning “in favour of” and ‘Cras’ meaning “tomorrow”. It is
defined therefore as “The act or the habit of delaying or putting things off’. No doubt
it is a one way ticket to stress, guilt and overwhelm.
There are certain common symptoms which are often seen in people suffering from
this syndrome are:
1. Frequently texting friends/family at the last minute to cancel plans, often once
the person has already reached the scheduled location.
2. Frequently canceling plans with friends/ family simply because something else
has come up.
3. Frequently texting that you are “running late.”
4. Failing to show up on time at social functions, get together, parties
5. Last minute shopping for a long-planned vacation
6. Consistently leaving plans “loose” or unconfirmed until at the last minute.

Let me share a funny story, which I read in Shamim Rafeek’s website, which he
beautifully linked with procrastination.

Story:
It’s the story of a turtle family. The family consists of Dad, Mom and the Baby turtle.
The Baby turtle was very lazy and always postpones anything and everything assigned
to him.
One day Mom, Dad and Baby turtle go on a picnic. When they arrive at the park, it
appears that it’s about to rain. Mom turtle asks Baby turtle to run home and get an
umbrella so that they can enjoy the picnic as planned, rain or shine.
Baby turtle as always said, " No I can't go, why don't you go and get it? ". Dad turtle
got annoyed and gives the Baby turtle an angry look. With a pale face Baby turtle
finally said, “If I go home and get the umbrella, do you promise you won't start lunch
without me?” Mom turtle assures Baby turtle that they will wait for him before eating.
With this confirmation, Baby turtle leaves. Ten minutes go by and Baby turtle has not
returned. An hour passes. A full day. Neither Mom or Dad turtle have eaten anything

and become very hungry. They wonder what is taking Baby turtle so long, and hope he
is okay.
Finally, Mom turtle says to Dad turtle, “Well, he hasn't come back yet. We might as
well eat something.” At which point Baby turtle pokes his head out from behind a tree
and screams, “If you eat, I won't go! I know you will do this, that's why I was hiding
and watching what you will do! ”

Moral :
It’s a silly story, but there is some important message in this story. The lesson is in
the fact that Baby turtle reminds many of us and our habit of procrastination. His
mom told him they would wait for him, but he chose to hide behind a tree and take
rest. He wasted everyone’s time, and ruined the picnic that was planned, all because
he was lazy and did not take the action required of him.
Why do we procrastinate?
It usually when we have a list of activities and we are unable to choose the order of
the task needs to done in respect of its importance and urgency. Moreover we also
want to avoid certain activities due our habit of laziness, fear to do the task, disliking
the task.
Brian Tracy’s best seller book, "Eat That Frog", gives us various tips to stop
procrastination. He says, our " frog " is our biggest, " most important task ", the one
we are most likely to procrastinate on if we don't do something about it.

Rule 1: if you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first! This is another
way of saying that if we have two important tasks before us, start with the
biggest, hardest, and most the important one first.

Rule 2: if we have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it
for very long!
There is a list of tools which will enable you to come out of this ‘Last Minute
Syndrome’. Enjoy them…..

 

Reflection Tool 

Past, present and future, time is the one commodity we can’t get enough of, and money can’t buy. This tool will help you to know yourself and your thought pattern regarding ‘Time’.

Now stop and ask yourself:

1. What do I really mean when I say “I don’t have enough time?”
2. How does time move faster for you as you get older?
3. If you could improve your time management skills, what would you like to do differently?

 

Self Introspection Tool

What matters in your life?

Managing your time – and using the tools – depends very much on what is

important to you. Stephen Covey’s Habit 2 ‘Begin with the End in Mind’ reminds us to look at what we want to achieve in life before we set off to plan for it.

It is useful to look at the different areas of your life.
For eg:

• List each area in your life or use the suggested areas in this table.
• For each area, name the roles you play g. in Family you may be a parent as well as a spouse and a child
• For each role, write what you want (your goals)
• Finally, to achieve what you want, break it into small tasks you need to carry out
• Look at the example in this table.

 

 

Area	Which roles matter to you?	What do you want to achieve?	What project(s) support this goal?
Family	I am a Daughter	I want to support my parents as they get older and show my appreciation to them	Create occasions to spend time together   ·         Plan for the future and have difficult conversations ·         Organize  Diwali  dinner this year
	I am a mother
	I am a Wife
	I am a Grand Mother
	I am my own

 

 

Professional	I am a Team member on Project A	I make valuable contributions which get me noticed	List areas where I can make a contribution and list my skills   ·         Have monthly meetings with my manager to discuss my interests, achievements an opportunities ·         Run weekly project status updates with entire team ·         Develop project management skills through courses and on-the-job experience
	I am colleague
	I am manager

 

Approach of Time Management

There are two different approaches to time management. One approach is how to squeeze more activities out of the time available.

A second approach shows how to enjoy and savor the time you have in order to enjoy your life.

Whichever approach you choose, the steps described here are practical and time proven. They’ll help you if you put them into action.

Natural Time Rhythm Tool:

This is a self discovery tool is will help you understand your natural time rhythm. Peak productive times and rhythm is different for each of us.

Rate Yourself as:

1. I love the morning, I get up with lots of energy and I do my best work before noon but then I take a break in the afternoon.
2.  I love to work in the evenings. Mornings are tough for me – it’s hard for me to get up and get going but I do my best work in the afternoon or evening.

2. If I have an important project to do, I always try to do it:

1.  First thing in the morning
2.  After lunch
3.  In the late afternoon
4.  In the evening
5.  In the very early morning hours

3.  If I could set my own work day, I’d work from:

1. 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
2. 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
3. 2:00 – 7:00 p.m.
4. 4:00 – 9:00 p.m.
5. 6:00 – 11:00 p.m.
6. 9:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.
7. 11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
8. Other

Summary:

Some of us are morning people – we are the most productive in the morning. If this is the case, then schedule your most important things in the morning hours. Others are owls – we love to get our work done late at night. If you’re an owl, schedule your most important jobs and thinking activities in the evening