Why procrastination is NOT the problem

Key Takeaways

most people equate procrastination with laziness [Music] it's literally in the dictionary [Music] let's be real i found the definition online merriam-webster says that it's to be slow or late about doing something that should be done to delay doing something until a later time because you don't want to do it because you are lazy etc there is the undeniable implication that if you're putting something off it's because you're lazy and that's just not the case at least not always there's a difference between active and passive procrastination active where you replace the task that should be done with a ton of other things i can't start writing an article until i've cleaned my desk made my coffee lit my ambiance candle sharpened my lucky pencil etc all good things right how could you possibly say that i'm being lazy then there's passive procrastination where you're just paralyzed by the dread of having to do something that you just end up vegetating on the couch what these have in common is that neither of these are a form of laziness nor is it a character flaw what they really are are symptoms of a bigger emotional picture surrounding that task that could be fear of failure fear of criticism feeling of overwhelm perfectionism maybe you're looking at a task that has to be done and thinking that it's either intimidating confusing boring or maybe you just don't know where to start and so by avoiding the task we're avoiding these negative emotions thus procrastination is more of a sign that there are underlying problems that have to be dealt with at the same time procrastination can be a good thing some of the best things come out of procrastination da vinci took 16 years to finish the mona lisa mozart wrote the overture to don giovanni the night before the opera's debut the adrenaline can often spur creativity personally i've found it best to create my presentations the night before i have to give them because i can better remember my train of thought and thus it leads to a better experience for the listeners and a better presentation university of san diego professor frank partnoy says that procrastination is actually very important that by delaying decision making until the very last minute is actually the best way to get the best outcome by delaying decision making you're giving yourself the most time to collect the most data develop your idea analyze the situation so that you can make the best possible choice with the best possible outcome it's literally the opposite of making a snap decision professor partnoy suggests that the first step to making a decision is to understand what is the longest amount of time that you have in order to make that decision so if you have an hour of time he suggests making the decision in the 59th minute if you have a year make your decision on the 364th day even in the fast-paced environment you ask especially in a fast-paced environment partnoy uses tennis as an example professional tennis serves travel at 100 kilometers an hour you might think that good 10 assists are that good because they're quick right well partnoy argues the opposite he says that professionals have refined their tennis swings so well that they don't have to waste time on positioning and whatnot so that they can use the last possible moment to position themselves in the perfect place to deliver the best possible response to the serve swing whatever those tennis words are so you see procrastination doesn't always have to be a bad thing but there are situations where it can get in your way and if you do find yourselves in those kinds of situations here are a few questions you can ask yourself number one why am i avoiding this chances are there are bigger things that have to be dealt with and when you know what has to be dealt with then you can deal with them accordingly for example if you just feel overwhelmed about a certain task you can chop it up into smaller tasks so that they seem more manageable or if you feel like you are never going to be able to complete that task at the level of perfectionism that you expect from yourself well that seems like an opportunity for an introspection and maybe under the supervision of a professional the second question is is there a legit reason for me to transfer this to a different date for example if you do need the weekend for longer times and longer stretches of time to be able to tackle the task that's fine or if you're more likely to remember your presentation if you make it the night before you have to perform it that's also legit and third what is the last possible healthy time i can make a decision on this and then use that time to collect data analyze the situation and then make the best possible decision procrastination doesn't have to be a hindrance you can make it part of your process now if you agree with this then give this video a thumbs up and make sure to subscribe to the channel see you in the next video bye [Music]