PROBLEN SOLVING and DECISION MAKING Making a choice between a specific
behavior that I would change would be a rather easy decision. The first behavior
that I will seriously work on is procrastination. This behavior falls under the
managerial skills of problem solving and decision making. Procrastination is a
habit of needlessly putting off relevant activities until another day or time.
Procrastination is a behavior that I really need to change. I am the type of
person who will wait to the last minute to do everything. For example, when I
was trying to register for National Louis University, I waited one week before
the course start date to begin preparing for enrollment. Why do I do this? I
really don’t know. It could be a combination of time management, difficulty
concentrating, fear and anxiety or negative beliefs. It is important that I
change this behavior because it can lead to inconvenience and feeling out of
control, or feelings of depression and/or frustration. During the In-Basket
assessment exercise procrastination played a big part in why I did so poorly. I
literally sat at my desk staring into space as though I were daydreaming. I
think this happened because I was put into a situation that I was unfamiliar
with and had a time schedule, which had to be met. When I had a visit with my
assessor, Mary Ann, the first thing she asked me was if I was a procrastinator.
She was able to recognize this from the In Basket exercise. Mary Ann pointed out
several areas that I need to work on. The first was my fear of failing. This is
true because I have always been the type of person who wants to do my best in
everything. The second was time management, which was obvious since I didn’t
complete the exercise in the required time. My classmates also brought up this
point. If I had scanned the memorandums instead of trying to read all of them, I
would have completed the exercise and managed my time more effectively.
According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I am categorized as type ISTJ,
which is a quintessential dependable, responsible type. Accountability,
productivity, and the bottom line drive me. This specific behavior falls under
the Sensor category.
This answers a lot of questions about why I am a
procrastinator. I like to focus on the present and not the future. What I mean
by this is that if a task has a suspense date for tomorrow, I will not work on
it until tomorrow. I will not work on something that has a future suspense date
even if I have nothing else pending. Now that I know that I am a procrastinator,
I will take the following steps to change this behavior: 1) Reinforce the desire
with action - force myself to act even when I am afraid to act. 2) Seize the
moment - follow thoughts with action. 3) Express myself - be confident and never
put emotions or ideas on hold even though they may be strictly monitored. 4) Do
it today - never put off until tomorrow what I can do today. 5) Time Management
- discipline myself to use time wisely. By doing these five things I can
overcome this behavior and be a very effective business manager.
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