Procrastination isn’t always a bad thing. The tension of realizing you’re putting off something important you probably should do can make you a lot more productive at things. For instance, instead of taking my unplanned day off from work to work on my thesis, I’m using it to list my tasks, clear some festering old things I’ve needed to do for awhile, and reorganize myself for more productivity. Likewise, while I would probably struggle to force myself to read any of the books or papers I need as a source to my thesis, at the moment I would probably read Getting Things Done in a single sitting.
Hopefully I’ll keep the winning feeling for long enough to turn it into a habit. That’s the hope, but past experience has shown it hasn’t happened yet. On the other hand, my impulses to keep my life neatly organized are becoming more and more frequent, so maybe it won’t be long until the habit finally takes. I’ll need it—I’ll be quite busy this upcoming semester.
Tags: procrastination
I can identify with your situation. I’m a (doctoral) student, and there are many procrastination temptations.
But just as you suggest, not all procrastination is created equal.
It can sometimes be good to procrastinate – it can lead to less struggle, delay (counter-intuitive, but true), and more optimal functioning.
There’s a new book out titled Productive Procrastination, and it describes how to do it, how to tell productive from destructive procrastination, and how to end the destruction kind. It’s available on Amazon.com. Learn more about the book at http://www.Procrastivity.com
I was going to stop procrastinating, but I never got around to it.