I recently came across a quote by Norman Vincent Peale – “If you put off everything till you’re sure of it, you’ll never get anything done”. This instantly made me think of someone from yesteryear, this person loved to procrastinate, be it work or life decisions, as if it was an addiction.. sometimes made me wonder if he was taking pride in it.
I’ve often noticed with people who procrastinate that they get a different ‘high’ after they finish their work at the very last moment. It’s as if, being able to accomplish a task just before deadline, especially if the work comes out brilliant, gives them a certain boost.
Some researchers believe that procrastination is genetic, if you had a procrastinator for a granddad, you’re probably going to be one.. so just blame your genes the next time your boss is upset with you.
And there are others who say that it is essential to procrastinate at times, to let the less important or less urgent things be and focus on the more important work. I believe this is a simple act of prioritization not procrastination, choosing important and urgent over the rest – following the basics of Eisenhower Decision Matrix.
In my opinion, procrastination is a habit forming behavior. Like most addiction, it grows on you slowly. May be the first time you genuinely didn’t have time and had to do something at the last moment, yet you were able to achieve a good result. May be you enjoyed the thrill and you felt you could do this again. But, one day you reach a point where the quality of results being produced are not up to your own standard, but, by then you are so habituated. Procrastination becomes a part of life.
Is it true – once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator? That’s for next time.