I am just going to come out and say it. I am a master procrastinator.
Procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead.
Most people would call me a liar for saying so. Sure I may seem very productive and I get many things done. But what you don’t see, is how much time I waste.
Here’s how I waste my time:
- I watch too many Netflix series
- I spend too much time in the shower
- I cannot say no to a coffee date
- I go down Youtube rabbit holes
- Sometimes I don’t do anything - I simply exist.
Sometimes procrastination can be a good thing
We can probably agree that at first glance, procrastination seems bad. However, in my experience, there is some good that comes from “wasting time”.
To delay a task is safer
There have been very instances where I knew I had to do something important, I put it on my to-do list, and then I start procrastinating.
I think of it in the shower, while I am driving, while I am watching a series on Netflix. Slowly I churn about the task at hand. And oftentimes, before I get to the “important task”, I figure out that there is a very good reason why I shouldn’t do it.
Versus
Sometimes I don’t procrastinate and I start doing the “important task” immediately. After spending hours and hours, doing irreparable damage, I realise that I should never have started doing it at all.
It would have been much better to procrastinate about doing it first.
When it is a good idea to procrastinate
- When it’s not exactly clear what you need to do
- When you want to send an angry email/text
- When someone insults you and you want to respond
- When waiting a day, has no immediate negative consequences.