The Joy of Procrastination

“I wish I had some days when I had nothing to do; I could then do so much”!

This was the thought that crossed my mind after a long busy week when I found myself struggling.

Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? But in reality, more than paradoxical, it is a wishful thought, not likely to come true unless one gets down to clinically dissect a day and dispassionately identify how much of the time spent is invested in productive pursuits.

Talking of time, the issue of procrastination invariably surfaces in such conversations, as it did, after my last post on the subject.

Perhaps the reason for procrastination is partly, yet subtly addressed in Marthe Troly-Curtin's quote in my last post (“The time that you enjoyed wasting in not wasted time”). But there is a lot more to it.

There are intangible benefits that the unconscious mind accrues from procrastination in the short term. Let’s look at some of these.

There is considerable joy in exercising one’s choice to resist doing what is externally imposed (and not sought). The underlying reason for such behavior could lie in the innate desire to exert power, or to exercise free will. You may like to check out Will Schutz and his FIRO B, who talks of ‘control’ as one of the three fundamental human needs.

 Other reason for delaying action could be in refusing to accept the consequences of non-action, which is primarily an unconscious attempt at denial of existence of a threat (a convoluted version of classical ‘flight’ behavior. “Where is the tiger here…?”). It works till the threat becomes visible and there is no running away from it any more.

Another reason, and perhaps most significant one for one’s penchant for delayed action could merely be a fallout of how one is wired from the inside in terms of one’s preference or 'Type' (being the ‘Perceiving' type in Jungian terms). A procrastinator’s reasons for delayed action may not necessarily be any of those stated above, but his/her desire to pend action/decisions till more inputs/ knowledge/ wisdom is available to take a more superior call than the one taken in a hurry. You see the ‘Judging’ types seek closures and meeting deadlines, as against ‘Perceiving’ kinds who are flexible, adaptable and never in a tearing hurry (visibly more chilled, if you like…!).

There is nothing that we, as human beings ever do for no reason. Including procrastination. It is just that we might be doing it for short term benefits (case 1 and 2), or due to our psychological hard-wiring (case 3). In the former case, some introspection may be useful, as I wonder if there are any long term benefits to these tendencies. For the latter, a psychometric assessment may help you figure your ‘Type’.

In all cases, if you are struggling with the issue of procrastination, spending some time with a coach may be immensely useful.

So rejoice, procrastinators, I have given you at least three good reasons to justify your existence and not feel too bad about yourselves - you are just being human! However if you wish to discover more, remember, I am just a call away…

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