THE EXPERT’S VIEW
Have a guess… Did I procrastinate
while writing this or not? Of course I
did. None of us can put our hands on
our hearts and say that we’ve never
procrastinated. Procrastination is
rife, with most of us procrastinating
on something or other, whether
it be going to the gym, booking a
holiday, finishing a report at work or
organising our finances.
Procrastination has been defined as
the voluntary delay of some important
task we intend to do, even though
we know we’ll suffer as a result of
procrastinating. It’s when ‘not now’
becomes ‘never’ and it can make you
feel
wretched.
As the early 20th
century American
psychologist,
William James
said;
‘Nothing
is so fatiguing
as the eternal
hanging on of an
uncompleted task’.
argues that by restructuring your
to-do list you can dawdle and always
accomplish something of value.
Most of us procrastinate on doing
those things that we ‘should’ or
‘ought’ to do, the things we know we
don’t really want to do. Lots of New
Year’s resolutions are those ‘shoulds’,
from losing weight to going to bed
earlier. That’s why most of us rarely
keep our New Year commitments.
To improve our chances of success,
instead of setting to-dos that we
‘should’ do, check if you really ‘want’
to do something. If you want to, why
not do it?
Our lives could be
so much richer if
we did the things
that we wanted
to do – the things
that crossed our
minds if only for
a moment. How
often do we feel we’ve wasted a
morning googling, or an evening in
front of the TV? Wouldn’t spending
time with a friend or having a swim
be so much more fulfilling?
NOTHING IS SO FATIGUING AS
THE ETERNAL HANGING ON OF
AN UNCOMPLETED TASK
“
We’ve all bought those last minute
flowers from the petrol station or
had a frantic rush before a holiday
because we haven’t packed, but just
occasionally procrastination can
actually work for the best. When
you’re stuck on a problem, going
for a walk or having a shower can
enable solutions to occur. Stanford
philosopher, John Perry, in his book
The Art of Procrastination, even
“
It’s only later on in life that we regret
we didn’t take better care of our
bodies, our health, our families, our
homes and our money. Start noticing
when procrastination is winking at
you. Wink back and then get on with
what you’re doing.
Good luck!
Nina Grunfeld,
CEO & Founder of Life Clubs
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