Procrastination is not a crime but it has killed a lot of things: start-up ideas, business improvements, manuscripts, decent exam results, weight-loss plans and plenty of potential career changes.
It’s a form of self-sabotage that often has people talking about all the crazy and wonderful things they’re ‘gonna do’, but never actually get started on.
So it’s always refreshing when you come across women who say they’re ‘gonna do’ something and actually follow through.
Recently, I spoke to entrepreneur and strategist Rose Herceg regarding the launch of her new book on how to use power in a responsible and benevolent way, The Power Book.
I’ve known Rose for a while, having worked with her on previous publications, and come to learn a little about how she works. She’s never late for a meeting, responds to a request immediately, comes across as continually ‘on’, and always dresses impeccably well. She seems to live true to every word of the 200 power rules she outlines in her book.
But more importantly, she never promises something she can’t deliver. If Rose says she’s ‘gonna do’ something, she’ll do it – without all the fanfare (especially in the digital age) of continually telling others all about it. Indeed, although Rose has enjoyed significant success throughout her career, you wouldn’t know much about it Googling her name. She’s confident and will talk about her achievements in person, but isn’t into online self-promotion, preferring to use the time to get stuff done.
No doubt that aside from her obvious talents, Rose’s ability to follow-through on what she promises is a good reason why she managed to launch a wildly successful social forecasting business in her early twenties, later develop a stellar reputation as a strategy consultant, work on a number of innovative start-ups, write books and – if all that’s not enough – complete a screenplay that’s now in pre-production in Hollywood.
She says it comes down to “good old-fashioned discipline” and a willingness to back your own abilities. “People are always saying, ‘I’m gonna, I’m gonna,’ and then five years later they haven’t done it. You’ve got to be a completer. You have to do it.”
She divides the time she spends working into thirds: one for consulting, another for developing start-ups and the final third for writing. She says she doesn’t work a huge amount of hours, takes plenty of time out and has become an expert at time management.
“There are people who work 80 hours a week who don’t actually get a lot done – having meetings to organise a meeting, to organise a meeting,” she says. “I don’t do a lot of messing around. I don’t turn up to meetings where I’m not required. I’m tough on myself in terms of extracting as much value as I can every time I walk in a room.”
Still, like everyone else Rose has her off days – and the ‘get it done’ mentality doesn’t extend to all aspects of her life. She says she’s “lazy and unambitious” at home, likes to outsource whatever she can, and enjoys the odd stay-indoors “pity party” when she feels knocked over by something. But she retains her energy for putting her best self forward in business and creative pursuits.
Talking about your plans and ambitions is brilliant – it can, after all, provide great motivation to achieve them. But there’s only so much talk you can do before action’s required. The real satisfaction comes from completion.