At this time of year there is quite a bit of talk about procrastination. At the beginning of a new year everyone is making resolutions, setting goals and attempting to start the year off right. One big thing that gets in the way is the fact that most of us procrastinate.
In my last post I talked about why it might be OK To Procrastinate. Basically, I talked about how procrastination falls into two categories, one being more serious than the other. If you haven’t read that post you might want to read it before you read further here.
I had promised to write a post about the 20% of people who are “professional procrastinators”. Instead, I decided to share this article that I found on the subject. In this article titled, How To Beat Procrastination, the author gives some solid reasons why we procrastinate and some ideas for how to overcome the habit.
I thought the article was well written and helpful. I would love to know what you think. Please leave a comment and let me know if you found it useful.
Happy reading!
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.
- The holidays – need I say more?
- 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.
- I was in vacation mode. Basically, I didn’t want to work.
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!
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