Sometimes big life decisions need to be made and they need to be made very quickly or on a less dramatic note sometimes there are smaller decisions that need to be made on a day to day basis. And sometimes we really do not know what the best decision is and simply do not want to think of it much. Any way you slice it there will always be decisions that will have to be made and things we will have to do and a lot of the times we will encounter some form of procrastination. Before I delve in to the reasons procrastination can be good thing, I first want to define what it means. The best way I can define procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something. I have to admit that I am a self-diagnosed procrastinator – even when I know a certain task HAS to get done I can sometimes procrastinate a bit. However, once my procrastination phase is over I always give the task 110% of my attention and effort. But, I digress; my point is that there is good procrastination and bad procrastination. As long as you can tell which type of procrastination you are encountering you will be able to know how to best manage it.
Here are the reasons I feel procrastination is actually a good thing:
Listen to your intuition
Sometimes you are not exactly sure why you are dragging your feet on something. This is a great time to sit back and do your best to put your finger on the reason you may be putting the thing off. Maybe it is your gut telling you that you should probably not move forward with the task or idea. In this instance, procrastination is actually a very good thing because your mind and your gut know what is best for you before you logically know it. If you give yourself some time to mull it over you’ll soon know what the best option for you is.
It’s not your thing
Other times you may procrastinate on doing something because you truly do not like to do it. Now don’t confuse that with laziness, if you’re lazy about doing something you know you will eventually get to it. But I am talking about a task that has just really never been for you. As an example, let’s say you absolutely do not like to do laundry, like seriously despise everything about it – well you can then consider to hiring someone to do your laundry (if you can afford it, of course) on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. If outsourcing a chore you really do not enjoy then you can use that time in a much more productive and enjoyable manner.
Gives you time
The beauty of procrastination is that it buys you time. And if you ever need to make a hard decision the best thing that can happen to you is have a little more time to think about it in order to arrive to the best decision. Giving yourself time to make a decision is a good thing as long as you don’t go crazy with the amount of time you give yourself – my suggestion is to allow yourself 1-3 nights to sleep on it – this will give you some clarity and breathing room to arrive at a good decision.
Are you a procrastinator? Have you gotten better at managing your procrastination habits? Share your tips below!