September 14, 2021
round tuit (plural round tuits)
(US, humorous) A circular object supposedly giving its owner the ability to get done everything that would have otherwise been put off to a later date "when they got around to it". [from late 20th c.]
Usage notes
The term is often used in the form “get a round tuit”, which is used in place of “get around to it”.
Are you reading this article to avoid doing some of those things on your to do list? We all do it. Sit back and enjoy this bit of procrastination - its worth it!
Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and author of “Still Procrastinating?: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done,” has found that about 20 percent of adults are chronic procrastinators. “That’s higher than depression, higher than phobia, higher than panic attacks and alcoholism. And yet all of those are considered legitimate,” he said. “We try to trivialize this tendency, but it’s not a funny topic.”
[Still Procrastinating?: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done Paperback – September 1, 2010 by ]
He found that 20% of us are chronic procrastinators but we all procrastinate to some level. Procrastination is not laziness. Fuschia Sirois, a professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield in England, defines procrastination this way: “The voluntary, unnecessary delay of an important task, despite knowing you’ll be worse off for doing so.”
We usually don’t procrastinate on fun things, she said. We procrastinate on tasks we find “difficult, unpleasant, aversive or just plain boring or stressful.” If a task feels especially overwhelming or provokes significant anxiety, it’s often easiest to avoid it.
Cybersecurity most definitely falls into this category. Coupled with the fact that it can feel like a pointless task because we don’t have the resources to fight the might of sophisticated cybercriminals.
There is a connection between self-compassion and procrastination. Don’t beat yourself up about cybersecurity. Research has shown that doing this can actually increase your motivation to improve yourself. Only 14% of small businesses feel they have adequate cybersecurity in place.[https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/685/]
Actively voice why doing your cybersecurity is important to your business. Think about the benefits to your business— time and money saved by preventing avoidable security issues. When you feel more connected to the task you’re less likely to procrastinate.
The old saying of “how do you eat an elephant? — one bite at a time” is your best strategy to avoid the overwhelm of doing your cybersecurity. Too much of anything can leave us feeling overwhelmed and paralysed into activity. Perfectionists are classic procrastinators. By splitting big tasks into manageable bites we feel less pressure to perform than on a big, daunting project. Once you get started you’re more likely to do more than you intended. Imagine you don’t feel like working out but you’re told you only have to do 5 sit ups. Chances are you’ll do 10 once you get started. You might even go on to another exercise and so on.
Some people prefer to start with small, easy tasks and build up momentum. Others work best by tackling the worst task first and getting it out of the way. Its down to personal preference and knowing which works best for you. When we talk about setting up a Password Manager that can feel daunting. If you know that will make you run a mile, rather start by doing a password check for passwords that have been compromised. Whichever the order keep the tasks within the realms of security that way you’re less likely to stall with filler tasks.
We all like rewards. Set yourself a goal, whether its to change 5 passwords, or spend 30 minutes on updating your settings. It can be as simple as getting done so you can take lunch, with an extra treat or moving that book from your wish list to your basket. Cybersecurity is a hard one - you don’t see the instant rewards. You don’t get to celebrate at the end of the month that you weren’t hacked so find little ways to reward yourself for making those changes that will make all the difference.
Fear of not knowing how or looking stupid holds us back. We’re all good at what we do but we can’t be knowledgeable about everything. Enlist professional help whether its a virtual assistant or a cybersecurity professional to help you make the changes you need to make to protect your business.
The freedom that comes from tackling unpleasant tasks is worth pursuing. We’ve made it easy by putting together the CyberPie Cybersecurity Tune-up. Together we’ll work through the basics like passwords, linked accounts, your website and put in place all the security settings on your key accounts. Go form zero to hero in 90 minutes. Start your anti-procrastination journey and Book Today!
Cybersecurity done one bite at a time. Start today, it's free.
