“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln
What is Procrastination?
According to Wikipedia, Procrastination is avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline. It could further be stated as a habitual or intentional delay of starting or finishing a task despite knowing it might have negative consequences. The major point to pick from this definition is the fact that procrastination most times is a habit people build up overtime. Everyone procrastinates, but some are very efficient at it and it requires a conscious effort to correct the habit.
Procrastination as a tool; a tool can be seen as something (instrument or means) to perform an operation to achieve more efficient results. Active procrastination which is seen as a tool means when you put off a work to engage in other things or thoughts that would still help get the same desired result in time.
- Active procrastination helps you learn to manage delay; most times knowing when to act, even though that may mean delaying actions, is good advice. (Not passive procrastination).
- Procrastination provides time to reflect on what’s most important.
- Much better decisions may result from procrastination; rushing into a task or a deal does not totally mean it will be done well, by procrastinating; one’s decision may be better informed as a result.
- Procrastination could help jumpstart prioritizing; this is helpful to get rid of unnecessary tasks, things you might have begun that weren’t worth your time at least for the moment.
- Procrastination allows your mind to process; your subconscious always think about what’s on your to-do list even if you don’t consciously think of it, this may then lead to an innovative or creative solution to the issue, project or task.
Procrastination as a vice; a vice which literally means a bad habit, asides the benefits one can get from procrastinating, it has its ugly sides if it is engaged in passively (i.e. procrastinators that re paralyzed by their indecision to act).
- Procrastination promotes negative feelings.
- Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior; passive procrastination conflates positive behaviors such as pondering and prioritizing.
- You add to the workload of others when you procrastinate especially in an employer-employee relationship.
- Procrastination may be paralyzed by fear of making a mistake, a loss of self- worth.
- The end product of chronic procrastination may be mental health issues.
In conclusion, procrastination can’t be termed a tool or a vice, but it’s advisable that if you must procrastinate, engage in active procrastination, anything asides that (passive procrastination) makes it a bad habit that must be corrected.