Inspiring Workplaces 
The Way Work Ought to Be!

#1,101- Nov. 19, 2025

I meant to tell you that October was Procrastination Awareness Month — but I kept putting it off! Sound familiar? We all do it. In fact, I’ve even been known to put off procrastinating until it felt like the right time to start procrastinating!

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant actually champions a certain kind of procrastination he calls “strategic procrastination” where letting thoughts marinade can spark more innovative ideas for creative projects. 

But for most of our work goals, procrastination isn’t strategic — it’s stressful. It can brand you as unreliable, create friction on your team, and lead to more than a few sleepless nights. 

A survey by VitalSmarts found that 70% of employees are currently putting off a difficult conversation, and 25% have been avoiding it for more than a year!  (Okay, so how could I NOT plug my upcoming virtual session on Mastering Challenging Workplace Conversations — because if you’ve been procrastinating on signing up, this might just save you a few nights’ sleep!)

A study published in Applied Psychology: An International Review found that sending students four 

questions via text twice a day helped them start projects earlier — and stay on track.

According to Jeff Haden in an article in Inc., the questions could be summarized like this:

• “How would successful people achieve this goal?”
• “How will I feel if I don’t complete this task — or run out of time to make it great?”
• “What’s one thing I can do to make sure I finish on time?”
• “What’s the first (or next) step I need to take?”

The first question is the most powerful one because it’s identity-base, getting at the idea of who we want to be seen as. Would, for example, a great salesperson put off telling a customer their order will ship late? Would an inspiring leader avoid dealing with a conflict? Of course not! 

Thinking about who you want to be — and how you want to feel about yourself — can be one of the most powerful motivators for taking action.

So maybe the next time you feel that urge to “do it later,” take a moment to ask: What would the best version of me do right now?