Everyone always says they procrastinate, it’s their biggest weakness, so on and so forth. But is it really procrastination that we all believe we are suffering from or is it something else all together? I feel that most of us are usually doing one of two things when we are “procrastinating.”
1. Working On Other Things
Whenever I feel I’m putting off a more important task, I’m never really being unproductive, rather I’m just working on things that are not as urgent. Now, if you’re still doing work that is of value, that is actually productive, then can that really be called procrastination? You’re not really putting it off, its just not your focus at the moment. Furthermore, until the deadline is passed, there is still time to spare…
2. Incubating
Even whe we put off the more important task and focus on other things, is that task still not lingering the back of our minds? Are we not consciously thinking of how best to approach that task and coming up with ideas, plans, and ways to take it forward?
Truly, instead of saying this is procrastination, it is more like a process of incubation, where although we are not physically doing the task at hand, we are mentally preparing for it, which plays a big part towards its successful completion.
In the end, I know that as much as I may procrastinate, I always leave myself enough time to get the job done to a level of which I would be happy with. A definition of procrastination is: deferring or delaying until the opportunity is lost.
I would never say that it comes to this point, although our habits may result in added stress as we work to meet a deadline, we are still usually able to achieve work up to our own standards.
So be it working on other things or incubation, if this is the type of procrastinating we are practicing, is it really procrastination at all?
