My Kick As# coach- What if it is ok to procrastinate?

What if it’s OK to procrastinate?

by Vicki Garcia on January 8, 2013

I know you’ve been told that procrastination is bad. Hell, I’ve probably even told you procrastination is bad. But, it’s really not that simple. Nothing is, right?
I procrastinated writing this blog post. I kept having a good laugh at myself over the fact that I was procrastinating writing a post about procrastinating. Oh, the irony!
Here’s the thing. All procrastination is not created equal.
According to Psychology Today, everyone procrastinates sometimes, but 20% of people chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions. Now, pretty much everyone I know says that they procrastinate. All of you cannot possibly be a part of that 20%. So what gives?
Which category are you in? Are you a professional procrastinator (part of the 20%) or are you an amateur procrastinator (the other 80%)?
Why was I procrastinating writing a blog about procrastinating? Well, I have a couple of reasons/excuses.

1. The holidays – need I say more?
2. I have been sick since a couple of days before Christmas – I don’t know about you, but I cannot write if I’m sick. My brain would not cooperate.
3. I was in vacation mode. Basically, I didn’t want to work.

So, let’s take a deeper look at this. Was it a horrible character flaw that I procrastinated writing this post? I think not. Sometimes, you have to give yourself what you truly need, vs. what is on your list. I needed rest. I needed to not think. I needed to focus on spending time with my family. Some would say I also “needed” to write this post because it was on my to-do list.
Sometimes the things on your list can and should wait. Period. It may not have been good for business or SEO that my blog didn’t go out when it was scheduled but the world didn’t stop spinning. I could have powered through and sucked it up and just wrote the post. I know the downside to doing that and so do you. Eventually, it catches up to you and usually in a big, ugly way. Because I know this, I chose to put off writing and take care of myself and enjoy the holidays.
I am most definitely part of the 80% of people who procrastinate sometimes. When you find yourself putting something off, ask yourself why. I mean, sit down, get quiet and really ask why you are putting it off. When I did this, the answer was because I needed to. I needed to rest and focus on other things. You might learn something if you take the time to ask what is making you procrastinate and it isn’t always some earth shattering, bad thing.
What category do you fall into? Are you in the 80% of amateur procrastinators or are you in the 20% of professionals? If you think you’re in the 20%, let me know. Maybe I’ll write a post about what to do about that!