Is procrastination always a bad thing?
I was thinking about a topic for the blog today when I happened to notice an article entitled The Smart Guide to Procrastination. I guess you could say I was procrastinating when I decided to click on the link and read the article! 😊 This should give you some ideas about how I procrastinate. Was procrastinating “bad” when I might have said I was doing “research”?
Procrastinators have some famous compatriots. Apparently, Mozart did not write the introduction to an opera that was scheduled for the next day until the night before the performance was to be held. He finished the work, but the performance was delayed because no one had a chance to practice it!
If Mozart managed to make a name for himself and he procrastinated, maybe some of the rest of the world can do that as well!
Unscheduling
The article I procrastinated with researched refers to a book, The Now Habit, which I have not read, written in 1988. In the book, Neil Fiore suggested the idea of unscheduling. He found that procrastinators felt better when they controlled what they did with their lives.
Many people think procrastinators are lazy. Granted, some are, but many are not.
These folks felt a variety of negative emotions when they had a long To-Do list and needed to accomplish what they thought was a LOT. Apparently, according to Fiore, procrastinators seem to resent having to do activities that interfere with the lives they want to lead. They want to be productive, but the idea of accomplishing a required task seems daunting.
In other words, if someone wants to go swimming or skiing, work out in the gym, or simply binge-watch Netflix, he or she resents the idea that “The Task That Must Be Done” interferes with that.
Well, yes. I guess.
Have you ever lost points on an assignment because you forgot to do something?
My assignment checklist can help you remember the details.
Check it out!
Lead the life you want to live first (???)
Fiore’s suggestion was to “unschedule”. In other words, he suggested people plan their schedules around the lives they want to lead, and then, in the time remaining, they schedule the activities that must be done.
This seems counterintuitive, but it may be a reasonable solution for some (many??) people.
The idea is that people put off doing tasks that interfere with their more pleasurable activities. From what I have read in the psychological and productivity fields, people want their pleasure NOW.
They do not want to postpone pleasurable/fun activities. In achieving their pleasures, they procrastinate on what they think they must do. In this case, they do not think that procrastination is “bad” behavior.
This also may fit with something I have noticed. You may have noticed this as well.
The busiest people seem to get the most done.
Some people are busy just doing things that never accomplish anything, or so it seems. Many people feel as if they are running on a hamster wheel. They are busy, but, at the end of the day, they do not feel as if they accomplished anything.
Other busy people feel as if they accomplished a lot and are satisfied with how they spent their day.
What accounts for the difference?
Apparently, really busy people know they have a lot to accomplish. No surprise there, right? But…..
Busy people know that if they just “work”, they could get burned out and stressed and have no time for fun. Instead of that, they do fun things first and then work on the work they have agreed to accomplish.
This may be what some “procrastinators” do. If they accomplish their tasks and get the promised activities completed, they could think that they have no reason to change their behaviors. After all, isn’t the goal to finish the necessary work? If they finish their tasks, AND enjoy their lives, should they change their behavior?
The important issue here is that these “procrastinators” are satisfied with their lives. They are NOT stressed out because some task has not been completed, or not completed perfectly. For these “procrastinators”, procrastination is not a bad behavior. They are making deliberate choices. 7 Habits and 5 Ways to Be Positive for a Happier Life
Would you like to be like this?
What if you are not quite there yet?
Maybe this sounds interesting, but you are not quite sure it would work for you.
In that case, I would suggest a modified form of the technique. Use your desired activity as a sort of reward. Tell yourself that you will look at social media, sleep, whatever, AFTER you spend 15 – 30 minutes on an activity you have been postponing.
Maybe, perhaps, could be, you will end up completing the activity because it is not as hard as you imagined. Maybe you will just get caught up in the activity and take a bit more time with it.
You are uncertain this will work for you?
I can understand that. I will, however, ask you to consider one thing:
Would you rather study/write/whatever at your pace for 15- 30 minutes and do some good work or feel the stress of “I procrastinated. I HAVE to get this done NOW.” Which behavior is most likely to accomplish the best learning? If you had a pop quiz in the next class, which technique would probably earn you the best grade? I am not saying that you would necessarily pass the quiz, but which technique would give you the best grade, that is the question.
I have a free worksheet that can help you recognize the reasons you procrastinate and help you be more productive.
Let me know what you think.
I am curious as to how many people would respond positively to this unscheduling approach. I guess this is my own little bit of unofficial research. If this works well for many readers, I will start thinking about other unconventional approaches.
Maybe you want to change some habits but are not ready to follow Fiore’s suggestions. This blog 5 Ways to Reprogram or Change Your Thoughts might be helpful.
Please add comments and let me know what you think.
I have listed a reference to the article I read if anyone is interested in the source of my ideas today.
If you found this helpful, please share it with someone you think would also find it useful. I would appreciate it. Your friend might appreciate it too.
Have you ever lost points on an assignment because you forgot to do something?
My assignment checklist can help you remember the details.
Check it out!
If you have any questions or comments, please leave me a note.
Valerie
updated 5 September 2023
Gorvett, Z. (2019, March 26). Power of an hour, Productivity, BBC Capital Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190322-why-prioritising-fun-over-work-will-stop-procrastination