Chapter Two: Procrastination – The Bane of Progress

“The best way to get something done is to begin.”

-Unknown

In his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John C. Maxwell shares one of his father’s favorite riddles: Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left?

The answer seems obvious: one. But this is incorrect. There are still five frogs on the log, because there is a difference between deciding, and doing. The Law of Diminishing Intent states that the longer you wait to do something that should be done now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it.

Procrastination is the habit of putting off impending tasks in preference to more pleasurable experiences, usually to the “last minute.” It can cause missed opportunities, stress, overwhelm, resentment and personal guilt.

Just like everything else in life, procrastination comes in stages, and these are:

1. False Security - “This isn’t due for a while. I will relax for now.”

When I was in high school, the teachers were gracious enough to provide one week deadlines for handing in assignments, and sometimes awarded extensions upon request. However, I always found some of my classmates in a frenzy to write the assignment on the morning of the due date. I was also in no position to judge them, because I usually wrote it the night before.

I always got high scores, but I knew I could’ve done better if I had put more time into it. And if you asked me about half of what I wrote, I probably wouldn’t remember it or know what it meant.

I was so concerned with meeting deadlines that I missed the chance to grow as an academic. That’s what false security does; it stunts our growth as individuals, whether or not we meet our deadline. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the longer you work on something, the better you become at it.

It may seem like we have all the time in the world, but the truth is, no one is promised tomorrow, and the problem with ‘one day’ is that it always arrives sooner than we expected. The experience of working on our goals consistently and practicing to become better helps us to develop character and perfect our craft. Whenever you sit back, relax, and watch the clock tick, you are robbing yourself of those experiences.

2. Laziness – “Perhaps I should get a head start… Nah!”

According to your estimations, there is still a lot of time to get the job done. It also doesn’t feel like the right time to get started. When the task at hand appears to be difficult and tedious, it’s easier to opt for conserving your energy. On the other hand, your favorite show is on TV, and the job can wait until after. Most of the time we procrastinate because we feel emotionally or physically drained. The more we continue this way and the longer we wait, the more our resolve will weaken (read: The Law of Diminishing Intent). We then lose passion for what we are doing and let time pass us by while we do nothing.

The solution to laziness is to continuously revisit the source of your inspiration. Something stirred you up to the point where you decided to pursue a certain goal. It could’ve been something you saw, read, heard or experienced that motivated you to chase a certain dream. Some people compile ‘vision boards’ – a collection of images and magazine cut-outs of the things they want most in life – and take time to look at them every day. I like to play certain songs when I’m reading, writing or exercising; the music inspires and  energizes me to push through. Find out what works for you, and use it whenever you require a boost.

3. Excuses – “I can’t do this right now because…”

Even when motivation is high, you may still encounter tasks that you don’t want to do, and any reason to delay doing them is good enough. If you were hoping for a cutesy solution to this problem, I’m sorry to disappoint you, because this is where maturity and taking responsibility for your actions comes into play.

You have to decide what’s more important to you, and stand by your decision. The pinnacle of discipline is when a conscious decision directly translates into guaranteed action. If you still remember, I mentioned earlier in the last chapter that Mister Hyde will try by all means to place a barricade between you and your goals. You need to really dig deep and question whether or not an excuse is valid, because any reason you give yourself sounds like a good one to you, because you’re the one who came up with it.

4. Denial – “I still have time. I just have to work twice as hard.”

The deadline looms closer and closer with each passing moment, and now it has dawned on you that you really need to move fast or you’ll miss it. All you need to do is buckle down and work really hard, and you’ll make it in time. You’re probably right – you could pull it off with the time you have left – but at the cost of your energy, time, quality of work and peace of mind.

However, If you’re wrong and the time you have left is not enough, then you will become frustrated, resentful and blame yourself when you do not meet your targets. It is always better to get the job done properly long before it’s due, and then kick back for the remainder of the timeline, than to relax when you have time and then work in a frenzy when there’s no time left.

5. Crisis – “I can’t believe I’m too late! I’ll never do this again!”

It’s too late. You cannot possibly do it in time now, and the only person you have to blame for it is yourself. But you’ve learned your lesson; you now know that procrastination is bad for you. You would’ve been a lot better off if you had started early and saw it through to the end. Next time, you won’t be so careless with your time. It’s over now, right?

6. Repeat

Wrong. Most of the time, when we procrastinate, we are unaware that we are doing so. This makes us susceptible to repeating the same mistakes whenever something else comes along. We have to become more aware of our thoughts in order to nip procrastination in the bud.

Recognize when you are procrastinating, and you will ensure that you do not entertain the thought. Here are some useful indicators that will help you know when you’re procrastinating:

• Waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle the important task at hand. This is probably the most common type of reasoning behind procrastination. Some people feel like they do their best work when they are under pressure, some think that they have to acquire every single tool they’ll need first, and others think that they need to be in the right frame of mind in order to begin. Now is the only time we have, which makes it the best time. No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Moods can be set, you can always start where you are with what you have, and the mind can be conditioned over time. The perfect time to start is always now.
• Filling your day with low priority tasks different from your To Do List. Congratulations. You have successfully checked your emails, updated your online profile and reorganized your desktop for efficiency. What you have not done yet, however, is write at least five pages of the assignment you set out to do. No matter how insignificant, completing low priority tasks creates a false sense of accomplishment and blinds you to the fact that you didn’t carry out the main objective. Word of advice: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
• Talking about your goals instead of, you know, actually doing them. According to studies based on Lewinian Goal Theory, when other people take notice of a person’s identity-related behavioral intention, this gives the individual a premature sense of having the identity they aspire to. In other words, when you tell people about a huge goal that you wish to accomplish, they will admire you for having the courage and confidence to attempt it, and you will feel awesome as you bask in the glow of their admiration. That feeling of awesomeness, however, will make you less motivated to actually go out and do those things. The temptation would be to keep talking about the goal instead of getting started. It is important to be accountable to a select few (those who can actually help you accomplish it), but don’t gloat about your goals to everyone.

As I have stated before, we are not all on an even playing field. Some people get in the game with a head start, but the one constant that is fair for all of us is time. We all get twenty-four hours in a day. How much you get done in that amount of time is up to you. Procrastination is the thief of time; be vigilant, and don’t get robbed. Invest your time wisely.