"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." Abraham Lincoln
"In delay there lies no plenty." William Shakepeare
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging of an uncompleted task." William James
As you can see...procrastination holds a negative connotation: unproductive, irritating, frustrating, inefficient. But, there come times when everyone does it. Some do it more often than others. For example, my experience shows me that teenagers do it the most often and their reasons for doing so are not always clear. Even though I would like to always label their actions just plain lazy, I know they must have other reasons that I, in my adult mind with adult things to do, cannot comprehend anymore. All I see is things left undone for so long that many times I end up doing them myself.
And some never do it at all. As I see it, every person who procrastinates does so for different reasons: boredom, laziness, frustration, exhaustion. It is personal.
I procrastinate more often than I would like. Every time I do, I get right back on the ball after I kick myself in the ass and admonish myself for being lazy. My reasons usually differ; and there is much rationalization that gets done while I am in the throes of procrastination. This constant battle has brought me to a point that I think I can offer advice to my fellow procrastinators on how to do it more efficiently and with less self-depracation.
#5 Maintain a list. I usually have a daily bucket list from which I cross off items as I complete them. For days on which I procrastinate, I am obviously not going to cross anything off because all I did was sit in front of the TV, sleep, or read. When my procrastination is spent, I pick up the list right where I left off, add the procrastination exercise I just finished (whether sleeping, reading, TV, computer, etc.), cross it (them) off, then move on. In this way I can fool myself into thinking I accomplished something.
Another thing to try is similar to information chunking. This technique is used to make things easier to memorize or learn. It can be applied here by rearranging the list in different ways to make it more achievable. Combine an easy chore with a more complicated one, always doing the easy one first. Or, if you have to run errands outside of the house, do the errands that are in the same area of town, re-evaluate, and then move to the next area.
#4 Act like you deserve it. It is easy to get in a pattern of hating procrastination. We avoid, even villify, things we hate. We have been conditioned to avoid procrastination in order to be more productive. It is not easy to trick yourself into acting like you deserve something that you have been trained to hate. But, honestly, how much can one person do in one day? Some days you will go over and above and get everything done. You deserve a pat on the back, right? Congratulations!
What does that need to always produce results do to us over time, though? It can wear us down, overwhelm us. The constant barrage from mobile phones, the feeling of always being "on call", complicates this feeling. Just like the slow erosion of a rock by water or air, our constitution can dissipate if we don't build it up. Allow procrastination into your life once in awhile. Each one of us deserves to take a break from life, just like we deserve that dessert, or that quiet time at the end of the day, or that lunch date with our friends.
#3 Do it well. Think of procrastination as a day off, or even a mini-vacation. Try to schedule a day of procrastination. This way you can plan it, make it something worthwhile. Or, if the wave of procrastination comes on suddenly, take it head on. Engage it. Make it feel welcome...for a little while.
#2 Admit to it. If you continue to deny it, it only transforms into a dirty little secret that you will have to hide from others, eventually from yourself, and then it will become something you learn to hate. Remember, every one procrastinates from time to time. If you have fallen into it, admit it, and move on. Do not give it any strength by keeping it secret, and ultimately feeling negative about yourself or your abilities to produce.
#1 Get back up and return strong. If you have done all of the above, it will be easy to get up aftwards and continue where you left off. Just remember, though, that your list may now be longer because of it all.
Procrastination does not have to be inefficient or damaging to your self-esteem. It can be refreshing and invigorating if done constructively.
Can you think of any other ways to make procrastination work for you?
I would like to close with a quote, but I couldn't find any positive quotes by upstanding or famous people. I don't believe this is because they never procrastinate, as we the people are sometimes led to believe. I think it just means that in their success, they learned the danger of too much procrastination. And, I completely agree with the dangers. Too much procrastination defeats all good. Just like too much of anything.
Here is a quote I like from Cool Quotes (URL:http://www.coolquotes.com/procrastination/1.html). Written by William Penn: "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."
Moral: Procrastinate just long enough to re-direct but not so long that you get passed by.
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