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Here it is… the truth about procrastination!
Everyone I have ever asked has admitted procrastinating at some point in their life…most of them on a regular basis. If you ask people about their experience of procrastination, almost everyone will say it causes them stress, makes them nervous or fearful, or interferes with their ability to be effective, or to enjoy life.
If this is true, why is it that almost everyone still procrastinates? Why don’t we just stop? If we’re aware of the consequences, why is it so hard to correct the behavior?
The truth about procrastination is that it serves a purpose. The reason why people struggle to stop procrastinating is because they fail to see procrastination from the appropriate context. The truth is that the consequences of procrastination are hardly consequences at all, but perceiving them that way ensures that the real purpose of procrastination remains hidden deep within our subconscious minds.
The truth is that procrastination provides something that people really, really value. In a word, procrastination provides DRAMA! Who doesn’t love having drama and excitement in their life? Sure, we may say that procrastination is stressful and exhausting, but who can deny that it adds a degree of excitement and adventure to what might otherwise be a mundane affair?
Don’t believe me? Fine. You’re entitled to your own perspective, but I ask you this: Where’s the excitement in knowing that everything will be done on time? Where’s the adventure in working within your known limits? Where’s the fun in never testing your true ability to perform?
The truth is that people derive satisfaction from testing themselves, and passing the test. Procrastination gives people the opportunity perform exceptionally (at the last minute), and to experience themselves as being more powerful than normal circumstances will allow.
Procrastination makes life more thrilling and more satisfying (at least in short bursts that are both preceded by and followed by experiences of guilt and powerlessness).
Procrastination serves a purpose, although not very consistently, and not very well. If you want, as many people do, to have power over procrastination, you have to be willing to see the payoff first. You have to be able to identify the part of the experience that’s superficially positive or desirable, because that’s what compels you to keep procrastinating!
The next time you find yourself procrastinating, stop and ask yourself these questions:
- Where in my life or work do I feel bored, or long for drama and excitement?
- What does procrastinating allow me to experience that’s positive and desirable?
- How can I recreate that experience without using procrastination?
Possibly related:
You said “In a word, procrastination provides DRAMA!” — How true. But I’m not so sure that the stress will be worth the excitement for me. Knowing myself well, my preference has always been to prepare in advance rather than procastinate and wait to the last minute. Still, I cannot deny that there are many people who absolutely thrives on Procastination and manage to shine in the last hour!
This is a fresh, and healthier, way to look at this topic. Erek, I beieve you are correct when you say we like to test ourselves. Sometimes its important to remember where our boundaries are in life. Thanks for sharing this.
Alex
Alex and Eveyln, thank you for your comments!
@Alex: I’m glad my perspective on this registers with you as fresh and healthy! I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I’d get from this post!
@Evelyn: I’m right with you! I can’t stand waiting until the last minute.
I think it’s the “shining in the last hour” part that has people choose procrastination over preparation, but there are so many more constructive ways to make yourself shine!
Great perspective on procrastination!
It’s so true - we have to understand that no habit, good or bad, has ever been created that doesn’t also offer us something in return.
I think people also procrastinate to increase their own sense of self-importance. “I have to get this done, I just have to …” with lots of stress on the “I.”
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea,
Thanks for your comment! I agree with you. I think self-importance plays a role, although most procrastinators would vehemently deny it!
Erek
Wait a f@#king minute Ostrowski, ’cause I’m not buying this one. When I procrastinate it seems to be always because I just don’t want to perform the task at hand. Almost invariably when I do get around to doing whatever it was that I avoided I have a slight sense of panic and do a quick self beratement. It’s stressful doing the task under pressure and the relief I feel at completing the task hastily (and sometimes shoddily) does not out weigh the initial stress. When I perform tasks early however, I feel satisfied and confidently capable. I must be getting something out of procrastinating since I continue to do it, but it’s not drama. What part of the calculus am I miscomputing?
Terry,
Thanks for your comment! What you get out of procrastinating is an opportunity to shine under stressful and difficult circumstances.
I’m saying this experience is a subconscious motivator that keeps people coming back for more.
Consciously, you know it doesn’t serve you, but I say your procrastination is an expression of your desire to engineer solutions to great challenges.
The reason I call it “the truth about procrastination” is because it’s usually hidden under all of our judgments and feelings about what we should and shouldn’t do.
Knowing that we shouldn’t procrastinate keeps us from seeing how we actually relate to procrastination…as an opportunity to use all of our skills and resourcefulness to overcome great odds…just for the thrill…
Of course, you could be an exception…
Ostrowski
I agree that it is about creating drama, and excuses. If I wait until the last second, and then fail–I never REALLY tried. It’s better than working hard, planning ahead, and falling flat. Then you have to take responsibility and blame yourself. If you procrastinate and fail, you can blame the circumstances (I’ve been so busy, I never really had the time to put into this that I needed. . .) but if you succeed–tah dah! You are the ultimate achiever!
I think the drama also serves as a false motivation. A boring task turns into something exciting when procrastinated–it’s a way of making mundane things important.
I procrastinate cleaning my house all the time. I realize that if I really got organized, it would take no time at all, and then I would be left with nothing to do. At least now I have something to look forward to.
I think that I mostly procrastinate become I don’t know exactly how to proceed. If it’s work related, I don’t know exactly what needs to be done. If it’s a big job (especially one around the house), it’s because I don’t know how to make time for it, or figure out which smaller part can be done first. If it’s something I don’t want to do, I don’t know how to create the energy or context to choose to do it.
The trick (not an easy one) is to recognize the underlying what I don’t know, and then proceed to address that. Of course, then there are the times I procrastinate in doing that …
@ Emily: Thanks for weighing in, and for being honest about your own “thrill-seeking” with regard to cleaning your house!
@ Ellis: I think you nailed it when you said the piece about creating the energy or context to choose not to procrastinate. There is definitely a choice involved, and we spend a lot of energy keeping that fact hidden.
Thanks!
Erek
[…] Ostrowski presents Why Do I Procrastinate? posted at Verve Coaching:: Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Boston MA. The reason why […]
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