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When Saying Yes Creates Procrastination
One of the leading reasons people procrastinate is feeling as though they don’t have enough time to meet their commitments. Having too much on the schedule can be an active or a passive form of procrastination. Essentially, we allow others to add to our schedule without setting boundaries or we create busyness by cramming too many things onto our to-do list.
Being Positive is Important
Being agreeable is admirable. It’s what helps “win friends and influence people,” as Dale Carnegie said in his popular 1930’s book. Because of this, saying yes is often considered a characteristic of a positive mindset. Being willing to help others and saying yes to tasks can become second nature when you have a people-pleasing personality. As long as you have the time, energy, and stamina, saying yes can be a positive thing. But what happens when you say yes too much?
There are three main reasons that people say yes:
- We are excited and want to say yes.
- We have FOMO (fear of missing out).
- We feel obligated to be agreeable.
No matter why we say yes, if we say it too much, we tend to get overwhelmed and over-extend our capacity. Then we are faced with the choice of playing catch up or procrastinating. We’re hoping to meet all of our expectations…
