Procrastination

“Procrastination is a good friend to the blues.” “Lazy Mind” Elijah Emanuel (Reggae artist)

We all procrastinate, some of us more than others. Generally, we procrastinate over doing things that we find tedious, unpleasant or exceedingly difficult. We procrastinate to avoid increased responsibility, financial outlays, and potentially bad news. We put off doing our taxes because we are afraid that we may owe Uncle Sam money. We delay starting a new project, because we know that once started it will require a lot of work to see it through. We avoid going to the dentist for a regular check-up because we don’t want to hear that we have a cavity, and the longer we delay the more likely this is the case. We shirk the daily maintenance activities of our lives, such as changing the oil in our cars, fixing the leaky faucet or doing the laundry, until they become critical.

Businesses do not hesitate to exploit the human tendency to procrastinate. From credit cards to doctor’s bills, rental fees to travel plans, we are penalized for not paying or returning things on time, and for putting off time-sensitive purchases. The profit motive behind procrastination has turned us into a culture of debt. We buy something we can’t afford, get the bill, delay in paying and are charged a late fee. Even if we pay on time, we don’t pay in full and are charged interest on the outstanding sum. From consumer purchases to student loans we subscribe to the buy now pay later mentality, wherein it becomes increasing difficult to pay in the long term for vacations already enjoyed and education already received.

Clearly procrastination is laziness, but it is also a desire for things to remain the same (read: trouble free). Sometimes we have to face up to the bad choices we made in the past. When we procrastinate in this regard the outcome is usually not favorable; we are better off taking care of it sooner than later, in order to avoid unnecessary emotional stress. And often we find that dealing with it wasn’t as difficult or unpleasant as we had thought. Sometimes we just want a break from the endless cycle of obligations that occupy a large part of our time. We wake up in the morning and linger in bed with the thought of just skipping the day ahead, aware of all the challenges and stress we will face. But in doing so we know we will miss out on many beautiful moments: a sunny day, a good laugh with a coworker, a delicious lunch at a new location, or a chance encounter.

Increasingly, we procrastinate to simply avoid making decisions, regardless of whether they are trivial or of major consequence, unpleasant or potentially enjoyable. We may be just as likely to procrastinate over taking out the garbage, setting up an important client meeting, deciding what movie to watch, or committing to our friend’s backyard barbecue. This form of procrastination is directly related to information overload. While we still have obligations we would like to ignore, we also have more choices than ever of what to do with our free time, so we want to pick the best, in other words the activity that will give us the most fun for the least expense and logistical trouble.

This utilitarian function of procrastination is something we also apply in our professional lives. When making an important decision about our careers, we often stall until we have better information. When faced with criticism of our work, instead of reacting with pathos, we have learned that is best to wait and come up with a more reasoned and professional response. Sometimes we get tired of our job, social life and the place we call home. Instead of taking the time to reflect on why we feel this way and deciding on a feasible and moderate course of action to improve our lives, we tell ourselves and others that we plan to quit our job, move to another country, and take up an entirely different career without any experience to speak of, and no contacts at our future destination. While it sounds romantic and adventurous, when we think it over carefully we realize it is a stupid idea fraught with hardship and disappointment. Taking action just for the sake of dispelling inertia is usually not the best solution to our problems.

While a hasty decision built on frustration can be unproductive, it is also true that one can reflect too much and end up second-guessing themselves and arriving at decisions that are neurotic and therefore flawed. In cases when there is no best choice or positive outcome for a situation, we merely put off the inevitable and potentially make it worse by waiting. While procrastination can slow the pace of our lives and lead to more reflective action, it can also lead to inaction and paralysis, thereby causing us to lose sight of our goals and purpose in life. Life is a dangerous and precarious thing, but if we are to live productive lives we need to ignore this fact. Sure, we could get hit by a car in the street tomorrow but that doesn’t mean we should stay home cowering in our house. That girl or guy might break our heart but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love them. We will never have perfect information, so we have to make decisions before our options disappear.

The problem with existence is that each decision we make shapes our future options and ultimately the direction of our lives. The choice to travel to Panama instead of China can have a major impact on our life: for example, if in Panama we get malaria, and if in China we make an important business contact which in the long term makes us a millionaire. When we are young we are more likely to be spontaneous, choosing to do things for the sake of the experience without worrying about how it might shape our future. In spite of the mistakes, wrong turns and occasional misplaced enthusiasm of youth, this is probably for the best. As we get older we spend more time weighing the options and finding excuses for not doing something, worried as we are that something may go wrong and impact the relative stability of our lives in a negative way.

If we look at life as a dark room lit with a lone candle, it seems better to reconnoiter our surroundings, regardless of the risk of bumping into furniture or falling down the stairs, instead of standing in one place without a point of reference. In life we are constantly faced with the question of doing something new or doing what we have always done. If we assume that a life well-lived is one in which we take on new challenges, then clearly it is best to just do it instead of procrastinating until the opportunity has passed us by. Sometimes the opportunities that come in life are disguised as difficulties or setbacks. If we can learn to find value in these experiences then we can gain some knowledge that will make us stronger in the future. And when real opportunities come our way, even though they may not be exactly what we were looking for, we mustn’t hesitate, or those who are quicker on the draw will take our place. As the folk wisdom states, we must strike while the iron is hot, though we may not know what the outcome may be of the new experience we are forging.

In terms of the practicalities of living, it is best to pay our debts on time, without thought and by reflex, mend a shirt or a relationship before it completely falls apart, and not overthink things or focus too much on what can go wrong. We must consider that everyday we live so many things go right, from the moment we wake up and find that we are still alive, to feeding ourselves a tasty breakfast, being gainfully employed, arriving safely to our jobs, completing projects that provide us with a sense of self worth and something of value to others, communicating with our friends and family, exercising our bodies, and lying down at night in a warm bed to enjoy restful sleep. We must continue to assume that in all the decisions we make the majority of things will go right, and that when they don’t we will be resilient enough to adapt and make the best of it. It is that attitude that has gotten us this far as a species, and it will likely continue to carry us through. In the meantime when we have an obligation or a choice to make, we should act, like an animal that when hungry instinctively forages for food, instead of spending too much time weighing our options, worrying and wasting time. It is a tall order, but one that we are given the opportunity to address each and every day.

To quote Pipeline master and surfing legend Gerry Lopez, “when in doubt, paddle out.” Even if conditions aren’t ideal at the moment, we certainly don’t want to be standing on the shore when the perfect wave arrives to give us the ride of our lives.