I have come to think of project management as the language of getting things done. It strikes me as being very much results oriented; focused on the end item deliverable product or service. And for project managers who fully embrace the techniques of breaking work down into manageable tasks the focus involves not just achieving the final outcome, but accomplishing all of the intermediate activities as well. This, after all, is the foundation of the best practice of critical path management.

So why then do we encounter project management situations involving procrastination? Are some project managers putting off doing things because of habitual carelessness or laziness? What is the impact of procrastination when it does occur? How can we recognize procrastination; and how can we prevent it?

For project management procrastination is when a planned task or activity does not begin when scheduled or when an action or decision is not made when it needs to. For the project manager procrastination may occur because of personal attributes such as carelessness or laziness, however, it is doubtful that a significant number or project managers with these characteristics remain project managers but for so long. Procrastination for project managers who have remained in the profession for a significant length of time is more likely to occur for other reasons; it is more likely to occur as a result of wishful thinking (if I just wait a bit things will improve), or as the result of fear (if I act now I may make a mistake), or as the result of a strategy to reduce risk (if I delay the odds of success improve).

Read the rest at PM World Today.