Do you procrastinate? Are you aware of how procrastination can destroy your LNC business?
Are you a perfect procrastinator? This links the perfectionist and the procrastinator. The perfectionist has to do things over and over and over again. The end product is never good enough; therefore, it never sees the light of day.
Or, the perfectionist completes the report for the attorney but bills the attorney for an unreasonable amount of hours. The attorney is pleased with the work product but horrified by the bill.
There’s an extreme difference between striving for excellence and striving for perfection. Excellence is achievable; perfection is not. In striving for perfection, we can only fail and alienate our clients. In striving for excellence, we move quickly, gain ground, and analyze what we can do better next time. It’s a growth process.
Perfectionism and procrastination become very tightly linked.
We all procrastinate to some degree, but chronic procrastination is most harmful.
Destructive Procrastination
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks, often unnecessarily. While it may seem temporary relief, procrastination can lead to last-minute stress, incomplete work, and missed opportunities. It can stem from various sources, such as fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, or difficulty prioritizing tasks.
I saw this in myself when I first launched my business. I knew I needed a work product sample. So I created a sample work product on the liability issue of delay in diagnosing appendicitis. I must have spent 40 hours working up this sample. I created a chronology, medical summary, literature review, analysis of liability, and several other pieces of work product.
I assembled the material in a binder, indexed it, and tabbed it.
Then, after reaching the end of the project, which allowed me to procrastinate about marketing my services, I finally sent it out to an LNC to get feedback. I later realized that I had spent too much time perfecting and procrastinating, and no one cared about my sample report as much as I did. When I called her to ask her opinion of my sample, she had not even read it.
I also sent it to an attorney, who then began giving me cases. Months later, I asked him what he thought about it. “It was great”, he told me.
3 Examples of Procrastination in Your LNC Business
1. Delaying the review of medical records
An LNC might avoid starting a medical record review because the volume of documents feels overwhelming. Pushing this task to the last minute could lead to rushed analysis and overlooked details.
2. Postponing report writing
After reviewing the medical records and forming an opinion, an LNC may procrastinate in writing the final report, fearing the complexity of organizing their thoughts or unsure how to present their findings.
3. Avoiding client communication
Sometimes, an LNC may delay contacting attorneys for feedback or clarification, thinking the conversation may be difficult or they don’t have enough information to respond confidently.
Do you know a nurse who says she will become a legal nurse consultant?
She says, “I’m going to do this.” She’s so enthusiastic; she’s so upbeat; she’s very persuasive because she’s usually quite intelligent.
Six months later, you meet her and ask, “How is your business?”
She says, “Oh, you know, I got into it, and it just wasn’t that great an idea…but I’ve got this other idea; this is what I’m doing now.”
You see her six months later and ask, “So, how did that new idea turn out?” She says, “I got halfway through, and it wasn’t a good idea.”
Do you want to be a non-starter?
Or do you want your company’s growth to be stalled?
Do you strive to become perfect and procrastinate while your competitors take on your potential clients?
How to Avoid Procrastination
Break tasks into smaller steps
- Large tasks can feel daunting, leading to avoidance. By breaking down tasks like reviewing medical records into manageable sections, you can feel more in control and stay on track.
- Set deadlines for each phase. Establishing mini-deadlines throughout a project prevents the temptation to delay. For instance, setting a deadline for reviewing 50 pages of records daily can keep you on track.
- Focus on progress, not perfection. Procrastination often stems from the fear of not doing something perfectly. Remember that taking action is better than waiting for the “perfect” moment, which rarely comes.
Procrastination can hinder the growth of a Legal Nurse Consultant’s business.
By recognizing the signs and implementing strategies to combat these tendencies, you can streamline their workflow, reduce stress, and provide better client services. Remember that progress and consistent effort often yield better results than avoiding work altogether.
In my book, How to Start a Legal Nurse Consulting Business: Book 1 in the “Creating a Successful LNC Practice Series” you will learn in greater detail how to recognize and avoid procrastination.
You can get it by clicking here.
Pat Iyer is president of The Pat Iyer Group, which develops resources to assist LNCs in obtaining more clients, making more money, and achieving their business goals and dreams.
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