Everyone Procrastinates. Here’s How to Master What Matters
Everyone Procrastinates. Here's How to Master What Matters
The struggle against procrastination is a universal one. Iconic figures known for their work ethic have spoken out against delaying tasks, and many of us wrestle with the internal urge to put things off. This drive to eliminate procrastination altogether is understandable. However, in a world overflowing with possibilities and demands, is complete mastery of time even possible?
We're bombarded with endless emails, a constant stream of projects, and countless dreams vying for our attention. In this environment, procrastination feels less like a choice and more like a necessity. At any given moment, we're likely delaying numerous things. The uncomfortable truth is that we'll never accomplish everything we could.
Instead of aiming for the unattainable goal of overcoming procrastination entirely, what if the solution lies in becoming more strategic about it? As author Gregg Krech suggests, it's about consciously selecting which tasks can wait, allowing you to dedicate your precious resources – time, energy, focus – to the things that genuinely hold the most value.
Rethinking Time Management
The traditional promise of time management was absolute control – a sense of order over the relentless hours. This desire for dominance over time is a long-held one. Back in the early 20th century, Arnold Bennett sought to address the worry that "the years slip by" without a feeling of accomplishment.
While his techniques may have had merit in his era, they're less suited to our modern reality. Technological advancements and a hyper-competitive world mean we often feel like we're playing catch-up. It's easy to wonder if the fight against time is one we've already lost, and if it might be wiser to shift our approach entirely.
The very tools created to streamline our lives often have the opposite effect. Social media, for instance, connects us to countless exciting events and opportunities, yet the sheer volume can lead to a gnawing fear of missing out. Similarly, while email facilitates communication, it also creates an overwhelming inbox.
This doesn't mean we need to reject technology completely. Instead, it's about relinquishing the illusion of "doing it all." We need to make deliberate choices about what deserves our focus and what can be temporarily put aside.
Prioritizing Passion Projects to Overcome Procrastination
Creativity coach Jessica Abel advocates for a "pay yourself first" approach to time. Just as it's smart to prioritize savings in finances, we should dedicate some of our most valuable hours to the projects that truly light us up. Don't relegate your passions to the leftover time at the end of a draining day. If something is legitimately important, ensure it receives your attention by tackling it first, even in small increments.
This philosophy echoes the advice to work on your top priority early in the day or to block off protected time for your key work. The concept of "paying yourself first" emphasizes that our deepest aspirations deserve a place on our calendars, not just our wish lists.
Ultimately, mastering procrastination is about embracing our limitations as humans. Our time on Earth is finite, rendering complete accomplishment of all our desires simply impossible. Instead of battling this reality, the focus should be on getting better at strategic neglect – recognizing that letting some things go is the only way to fully embrace what matters most.
The Trouble With To-Do Lists (And What To Do Instead)
One obvious way to attempt to become a better procrastinator is the classic to-do list. But there’s a problem here, too: most of us are already far too good at adding items to such lists. The ease with which we can add new chores, aspirations, and long-term goals means that their number quickly gets out of hand. Eventually, this leads to a sense of being overwhelmed – so overwhelmed that the very existence of the list, so full of things you ought to be doing but haven’t yet, functions as a constant source of procrastination-inducing guilt.
A potential solution is to adopt a system like that of the academic Cal Newport. Newport recommends replacing your to-do list with a time-blocked schedule. This involves looking at your calendar and, for each day’s work hours, assigning specific tasks to specific time slots. This helps overcome the paralysis that comes with having too much choice: instead of staring at a huge number of things you might do, then deciding not to do any of them, you’ll be following a plan for the day, which has been pre-determined at an earlier, less stressed moment. Time-blocking can even help you avoid multitasking. It’s hard to waste an hour scrolling social media when you know that from 9am to 10am you’re meant to be, say, writing page ten of your business proposal.
The Concept of Precommitment
There’s another useful concept here that's worth highlighting, that of “precommitment”. This is the idea that it’s helpful to commit yourself to an action before the moment arrives when you have to decide whether to go through with it. Time-blocking works partly as a precommitment device. It's much harder to get sucked into wasting time when you set the intention ahead of time. And precommitments can be even more powerful when they’re social: if you’ve promised a friend you’ll meet them for a workout, for example, you’re far less likely to procrastinate by letting them down than you would be to let yourself down by staying in bed.
The Power of Imperfect Starts
Yet even with all this in place, you'll still find yourself procrastinating sometimes. At these moments, what matters is not despairing or giving in to self-loathing. Instead, try starting on the task in the most imperfect way. This approach was popularised by the writer and therapist Neil Fiore, who advises, for example, that instead of deciding to write a whole essay, you simply try to write for ten minutes. Or rather than embarking on a major house clean, you commit to spending ten minutes tidying whichever room seems the worst at the moment. Often, once the initial resistance has been overcome, you’ll find you want to keep going.
Underlying this principle is the idea that often it’s the fear of having to produce something perfect that prevents us from starting in the first place. So if you can get over that hump – by promising yourself you can quickly stop if you hate it, or that the first result will inevitably be low quality – then you’re much more likely to actually get going. Think of this as a way to trick your brain into making genuine progress.
Overcoming Perfectionism
Importantly, the ten-minute strategy helps to address a common problem: perfectionism isn't simply the pursuit of an excellent outcome. At its heart, it's really a kind of procrastination in disguise. The perfectionist focuses on all that could go wrong before they even properly begin. They fixate on the imagined flaws in a piece of work that doesn't exist yet, rather than starting the messy process of creating something that can then be improved and polished.
It’s also worth thinking about why, exactly, you procrastinate in the first place. Often, the answer is that you feel anxious or overwhelmed in the face of a particular challenge. This anxiety then prompts thoughts like “I'll never be able to do this” or “This is going to be harder than I thought”, fueling the desire to avoid starting in the first place.
At such moments, mindfulness practices can be extremely useful. Instead of getting swept away by anxious thoughts, a mindful approach involves calmly observing them without judgment. By taking a step back mentally, you create some distance between yourself and those difficult feelings, making it less likely that they'll dictate your actions (or your inaction!). Numerous apps and online resources can guide you through the basics of mindfulness techniques.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion as Allies
A related approach involves practicing self-compassion – the act of treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would a beloved friend. Research suggests that this can ease anxiety and boost motivation, especially when we face obstacles. Instead of self-criticism when setbacks occur, try extending the same warmth and encouragement you'd offer someone else. Acknowledge the difficulty, remind yourself that slip-ups are inevitable, and then focus on getting back on track.
It's also crucial to address situations where procrastination results directly from feeling overwhelmed. One strategy, popularized by productivity guru David Allen, is a practice he calls "brain dumping". This simply means taking the swirling vortex of thoughts and to-dos in your head, and getting them all out on paper. Once they're recorded, you can start breaking them down into more manageable chunks, and adding clear next steps for each item.
Procrastination, Focus, and Environment
Of course, there are occasions when even the best intentions and habits are thwarted by our environment. Technology, with its endless distractions, is the obvious enemy when it comes to focus. Turning off notifications, putting your phone in another room, or using apps to block tempting websites can all be transformative.
Consider, too, whether there are certain times of day when you tend to be more focused – and schedule demanding tasks for those windows. If your home environment makes sustained work impossible, a local library or co-working space might become your new sanctuary. Don't underestimate the impact your surroundings can have.
Finally, it's important to be honest about whether it's procrastination or something else that's getting in the way. Some tasks we label as procrastination are simply things we dread. In this case, reframing helps. Instead of "I should write that report", try "I choose to write that report, as it will get me closer to my promotion." Sometimes, simply acknowledging there's a choice involved can help you take that first step.
On the other hand, if you find yourself consistently avoiding specific tasks or projects for long periods, that might be a sign of deeper issues. It could indicate that the work in question isn't a good fit for your skills or interests, or that it goes against your core values in some way. Honest reflection here is vital, as continually procrastinating on something fundamental may be your subconscious mind's way of steering you towards a more fulfilling path.
The Freedom of Limits
One of the hardest parts of becoming a better procrastinator is that it means having to give up hope: the hope that someday, with the right system in place, or with enough motivation, or following that new productivity trend that everyone’s talking about, you’ll finally get on top of everything. But this is precisely where a new kind of freedom can be found.
Think of it like this: if it’s already the case that you’ll only ever get around to a fraction of the things you could theoretically do, then the sooner you accept that uncomfortable reality, the sooner you can get on with the task of figuring out which fraction actually matters.
Mastering the Art of Saying No: Embracing Productive Guilt for Success
This means being ruthless in your decisions about “what not to do.” The American investor Warren Buffett has said that the difference between successful people and very successful people is that the very successful ones “say no to almost everything.” Of course, the things you say no to will differ depending on your own priorities. But the goal is to cultivate a sense of what you might call “productive guilt”: not the self-flagellating kind of guilt that follows from failing to do more than is humanly possible, but the healthy discomfort that arises when the time you’re spending on one activity is preventing you from working on other things you care about even more.
The art of productive guilt can be hard, especially if you’re someone for whom letting others down is a major fear. But if you don’t take control of your decisions, someone else will. Your boss, your colleagues, your clients – they’ll fill your days with their demands, all of which might be perfectly legitimate, but which might not align with your own values or long-term goals. This doesn’t mean never doing anything to help anyone else. But it does mean ensuring you’re saying yes by choice, not just responding passively to a set of tasks that have been handed to you by default.
Forgiveness and Moving Forward
Even once you’ve done all this, it’s vital to forgive yourself for all the times in the past that you procrastinated “badly,” by which I mean in a way that led to genuine negative consequences, as opposed to merely the kind of low-level anxiety that comes from having too much on your plate. This might sound like strange advice, but it’s important because one of the main reasons for continued procrastination is often the lingering guilt and self-recrimination caused by our past failings in this regard. And the only way to break out of that self-destructive cycle is to consciously decide to leave those times behind.
And finally, don’t despair when you slip up. Becoming a better procrastinator is a practice, not a destination. Some days will be better than others. The aim is to get back on track with a sense of kindness and resolve, rather than letting those slip-ups become an excuse to abandon the mission altogether.
Finding Purpose in Your Procrastination
It's important to end with the recognition that sometimes procrastination can be a force for good. Occasionally, delaying starting a project might be your subconscious mind's way of recognizing it's not quite the right time. Perhaps you need more information, or you're waiting for a burst of inspiration. There's value in trusting your own inner sense of timing sometimes.
Moreover, the impulse to procrastinate can reveal valuable information about ourselves. It might spotlight the fact that there's a misalignment between our actions and our deeply held values. It could even signal burnout and the need for a change in pace or a deeper rethinking of your current life path. The key is to pay attention to these signals and approach them with curiosity rather than judgment.
Furthermore, there's something to be said for letting ourselves waste some time. We live in a culture that celebrates constant optimization and relentless productivity. But creativity benefits from periods of unstructured thought and playful exploration. Allowing for some "unproductive" time can actually boost focus and fresh thinking in the long run.
Conclusion
The aim, after all, isn't to completely eradicate your playful, impulsive, procrastinating self. It's an essential part of what makes you human. The goal is to harness that energy strategically, to make conscious choices about where you let those aspects of your personality off the leash, and when you focus on moving towards what you value most.
In short, think of this as a shift in mindset rather than a mere productivity hack. If you start from a place of self-acceptance – recognizing that procrastination, in some amount, is inevitable – you're setting yourself up for greater success. Embrace the limitations, both internal and external, that shape your life. Once you accept you can't do everything, you become empowered to give your time to what truly counts.
Ultimately, becoming a skilled procrastinator means taking ownership of your time and your priorities. It's the path to a life where you're spending more of your precious hours doing what lights you up and fuels your deepest sense of purpose. While you might occasionally yearn for the impossible dream of total control, the irony is that it's in accepting that limitation that you'll find real freedom.
