In college, I had a professor discuss the benefits of procrastination. He shared that the adrenaline we get from procrastination actually fuels our ability to be productive. Where it goes into the negative zone, is when we overuse it and can only be productive when we are amping up the adrenaline in constant procrastination, this can cause adrenal fatigue, thus hurting our bodies.
I've heard many people talk about procrastination as just a way to be lazy, and someone just putting off work. I'm sure there is truth there, but probably the most accurate assessment for me of procrastination came from Kevin Leman. Dr. Kevin Leman is a psychologist who studies and speaks on subjects like parenting, birth order, personalities, and marriage. I find his birth order work to be insightful and I've enjoyed reading his books over the years.
Kevin shares that procrastination can be a result of perfectionist influences. Those who grew up with perfectionism as a guiding standard tend to procrastinate because they are avoiding the judgement of their process. Doing it last minute gives less time for being judged on their work and also gives an excuse if they are judged because they just did it last minute.
This completely makes sense to me. It rings true, just as well as getting the adrenaline rush from doing things with less time. Not only do I get a rush of adrenaline when I'm flying about, but I often feel better about myself for accomplishing my list in record time, but I'm pretty sure that is a false high and truthfully would have been more responsible to give the tasks the time and attention they deserve.
The lesson that has helped me, is to just do it now. Haven't we learned that the hare doesn't win in the end, the tortoise does. Taking the work load and being consistent wins every time.
Rushing often brings mistakes and seems to keep our brains from processing all it needs to, leading to forgotten tasks along the way.
When I am finishing up after an event, I find, if I don't put everything away when I am done, stuff can sit around for weeks and pile up with the rest of the things I haven't accomplished.
My motto has become, "Why put off for tomorrow, what I can do today."
The Bible in James 4:14, reminds us that we don't know what tomorrow will bring. I can't tell you how many times I have forced myself to finish something only to get a sick kid, or a friend in crisis who needs me, or some other life happening the next day and realize, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish it.
We never know what will come up in life and we have to be diligent to accomplish what is on our plate. I'm not an expert in this, I am a human in process, trying to apply what I have learned along the way and in turn, share it with you. I know I am not alone in this and I want to share what God is teaching me.
Evaluating why I procrastinate is a valuable lesson in self-discovery as well as self-improvement. Saying self-improvement after discussing perfectionism seems crazy, I know, but for me improving means being less perfect and more forgiving of myself. Its becoming more healthy as an individual. Worrying about what others think or letting their opinions keep me down isn't healthy and I don't want to live with that weight on my shoulders.
I'm not concluding this by saying procrastination is bad. I am saying, evaluate why you procrastinate and deal with what you need to and remember - a little procrastination goes a long way.
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