Money management and cleaning ‘among tasks people are most likely to put off’

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