Money management and cleaning ‘among tasks people are most likely to put off’
Trips to the dentist or doctor are also among the tasks people are likely to delay, according to NatWest.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.More than half (51%) of people admit they procrastinate instead of acting on tasks that need doing, a survey has found.
Nearly one in five (18%) people surveyed admit to putting off managing their finances, while a quarter (25%) delay cleaning their home.
Seeing the dentist (18%) or doctor (17%) or catching up with friends (17%) were also among the tasks that people were most likely to put off, according to the research from NatWest.
Watching TV, scrolling through social media and napping were among the methods people used to distract themselves.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the 2,000 people surveyed for NatWest said they have a daily routine that hardly ever changes.
People also typically estimated they spend nearly four hours per day operating on “autopilot” – doing the same routines every day, such as eating the same breakfast and having the same commute to work.
NatWest has teamed up with entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett to help people take action to reach their goals with a set of motivational videos, looking at setting goals, starting a business and managing personal finances.
The Diary Of A CEO podcast host said it can be hard to “take that first step”, adding: “The Money Motivation series is aimed at helping anyone to take that first step to setting and achieving their goals – whatever those may be.”
NatWest CEO Alison Rose said: “Everyone experiences different challenges and obstacles in life. But we hope that Steven’s inspiring story and motivational personality can help people to set and strive for their own goals – whatever they may be.”
Here are the top 10 goals that people want to achieve but have yet to do so, according to NatWest:
1. Learn a new skill or craft
2. Travel the world
3. Start a new career
4. Learn to play an instrument
5. Start investing
6. Reignite friendships
7. Write a book
8. Research family tree
9. Start a business
10. Go back into education/retrain