Procrastination – we’re all guilty of it at some time or another. Heck, I did it with this blog post (shh).
I’ve usually looked at procrastination as a bad thing, and I think we can most agree that’s the common connotation associated with the word. But there’s always something on your to-do list that you’re just not keen on starting. Be it writing a highly technical bylined article, putting together a product mailer, or maybe just a chunk of research – I think we’ve all been at that point where the number one priority on our list just isn’t the task that’s getting done.
However, I came across a great article on Fast Company (a wonderful mélange of business, design, and media news) that suggests procrastination isn’t all that bad. The trick is to use that time to do something else that needs to get done. Don’t use your procrastination time on checking Facebook or arranging your pens – use it to do some of those less urgent things on your list that keep getting pushed down. In that sense, procrastination actually creates motivation to get other activities completed.
I’ve found the Work Smart series, of which this article is a part, very helpful. And recommend that while you’re procrastinating on that next big project, you head over to FastCompany.com and give them a read – I’d count that as a few minutes well spent.