Procrastination

Procrastinating is the easy choice. It is the choice that requires the least amount of effort and is the path of least resistance. People gravitate toward ease when willpower, motivation, and determination wane. People do not always want to start working on something when they could instead opt to continue relaxing on the couch. Procrastination is a result of not using your time effectively and also waiting to get started. There are many forms of procrastinating. You can focus on other tasks to avoid doing the main task at hand. You can misallocate your time so you have to work quickly to meet a deadline. You can spend time doing nothing instead of doing the task you are dreading. With any form of procrastination, you are spending time avoiding what inevitably needs to be done.

One major type of procrastination is “per-day procrastination.” This is your typical procrastination and is what most people encounter. It is deciding you will not run today because you do not feel like it. Tomorrow will be fine for logging your miles. It is saying you will not journal today because one day does not make a difference. Tomorrow will be fine to put pen back onto paper. It is saying you will not do the presentation today and instead opt for snacks and a movie. Tomorrow will be fine to start the presentation because you still have time. Per-day procrastination is backed by catering to what is easiest. You are not a bad person or even a lazy person for procrastinating over a day-to-day timeframe. You just lose sight of determination, drive, and focus, when you choose to procrastinate this way. Occasional per-day procrastination will not ruin your quest to achieve over the long run.

The more detrimental side of procrastination is called “per-project procrastination.” Per-project procrastination is far more dangerous than per-day procrastination. It is more dangerous because it is not rooted in a timeline of days, it is rooted in a timeline of years. When you have an ambitious idea and want to start but end up delaying, you are falling under the guide of per-project procrastination. What was once something you would start this week has now turned into something you have pushed off for months, which then turns into years. Symptoms of per-project procrastination include continuous delays in starting to pursue a project and not starting at all. Per-project procrastination is backed by wanting things to be perfect even though they never will be. Per-project procrastination is living in a world of excuses for why you cannot begin. Per-project procrastination kills all attempts to progress before they have even begun.

People procrastinate. No one will be as productive as they can be every hour of every day. Breaks and momentarily lapses in production are part of the process. These breaks still lead to the work being completed. When you procrastinate to the level of never even starting, that is where the problems emerge. Just start. There is no need to wait for things to be perfect because they never will be.