Procrastination!!!!

“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.”

Spanish Proverb

“How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.”
Martin Luther

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”
Karen Lamb

  

Procrastination is one of those topics that, it seems, I can’t write enough about. There isn’t a person who doesn’t procrastinate, and that’s a fact of life.

Its deep within everyone. I always think I am going to do something later, or learn playing guitar later, or learn French later. But we always overestimate how much we can do later, and we overestimate the ability of our later selves to beat procrastination.

Resting on the couch is thought of as nicer, right now, than going on a run. Reading blogs is easier, right now, than reading a classic novel. Checking email or Facebook is easier, now, than doing that project you’ve been putting off. Eating chocolate cake is tastier, right now, than eating veggies.

One of the most common problems is we know what we want to do and should do. But still we end up spending hours upon hours doing “easier” work or escaping via TV, blogs or music.

We often have a long list of things we plan to do, because we think we can do a lot in the future. The reality is usually a little worse than we expected, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking the future will be different yet again. For the same reason, we think it’s OK to procrastinate, because we’re going to do it later, for sure. Our future self will be incredibly productive and focused! Except, our future self is also lazy, and doesn’t do it either. Damn future self.

Procrastination is not just putting off work until a later time, but the act of starting work on a project at the latest possible time. When someone do this, they are living on the edge of abilities.

Sooooooo from today is to know where my capabilities end and spend as much time there as possible. Find myself a deadline and make friends with it.