Let’s Stop doing Things at the Last Moment

I do not know how others do it ....

Oh, but I know. A lot of people complain about this and I also found out about it since my very first job.

If a conclusion should be drawn regarding how people are generally working, regardless of country or industry, it would be this – people follow the doing-things-at-the-last-moment procedure.

We all got carried away rather easily in following it. And no reproach can be made to a certain person, industry or country. Nowadays, we live in a fast-forward society, where everything changes really fast and this also reflects upon our tasks.

I once attended a job interview that convinced me to never apply for that company ever again. When the potential manager told me that the thing she cherished the most was that she and her team did not have to work on Saturdays, the alarm went on. And the pitching sound really got to uncomfortable when she started presenting the team and how it should learn not to take things so personally and that sometimes projects are abandoned and the team must make sure to succeed with the last minute changes. I do not even want to think how many Munch’s living paintings could be found in that team! It is one thing to be adaptable, and another to have as sole certainty that everything changes with no planification beforehand.

This is how I come to realize that, often enough, beyond the discussions about values, some teams have only one strategy – everything done at the last moment.

It is understandable that not everything can be foreseen or anticipated. And, sometimes, it’s fine that things are like this. But having to deliver projects without a small planification and vision could be dangerous.

Why is it dangerous to do things in the last moment?

Employee’s motivation is most affected when things are done with not much discussion about why things change, and the task must be delivered urgently. Even for those employees that do not have organizational skills, this could lead to loss of motivation.

Of course, when unexpected things happen stress is triggered by them. And with the stress, health problems emerge too. How many of us have already seen colleagues and managers get sick due to the stress at work?!

Lacking strategy is also damaging productivity on the long run. People talk more and more about strategy, but I get the feeling that only few really know what it means. If a strategy is mainly concerned with the goal and less about resources and anticipating eventual issues on the way, that is not how strategy is supposed to be. Also, if the main participants are not informed regarding the strategy and cannot bring their contribution to various stages of it (whether through indications regarding projects or information about other participants and/ or projects/ issues/ advantages, etc.) and be able to share their knowledge/ advice, that’s no strategy. There are cases, of course, when participants speak their minds but are afterwards ignored. That’s no strategy either.

 

What works

A while ago, I was telling you about a saboteur I used to work with. It did no matter how well my team organized its tasks, that person would always hinder our delivery of the project. So we came with the only solution we had at hand to change things for the better – we gave that person another deadline than the official one (mainly, an earlier deadline). And it worked. Having some time especially for the delays caused by this person helped us deliver in time our project.

 

Can proactivity be learned?

YES.

Like any good thing, one realizes its importance when one does not have it. After several experiences, and having thought about improvements for my tasks (the agile method, to the best of my knowledge), I realized proactivity can do a lot of good.

How does one start?

With simple steps. And sketching the plan. Afterwards, and according to needs, one will learn if one needs a more elaborate plan (namely, a more detailed plan) or a mere enumeration of tasks and the people they are assigned to.

But proactivity does not stop here. A plan must be constantly checked to see if things unfold as planned and interventions must be made when there are changes or delays.

 

It is wonderful to have to rely on people that are easily adaptable, and I won’t deny that this is actually very important nowadays.

But for calmer minds, an increased productivity, a lower stress level and, why not?!, a long-term vision, I dearly recommend proactivity and less doing things at the last moment.