Procrastination Station

Guilty: one bona fide procrastinator, right here, and it’s nothing to be proud of; or is it? This tweet gave me food for thought.

What if being a procrastinator is key to my creativity?  I decided to take the question to Google and to my surprise, found tons of scholarly articles on the subject.  As with most behavioral issues, the facets of procrastination are very complex.  At the most basic level, there are two forms: behavioral and decisional.  I’ve been guilty of both, which unfortunately seems to mean that I’m neurotic yet work well under pressure.  Yes, that seems to explain large portions of my life.  I was the one that frequently completed the major academic assignments, the night before they were due.  “I work best, under pressure,” I rationalized. I’m also the one that stays up until 2:00 a.m. packing for the flight that leaves at 6:00 a.m., much to the dismay of my husband, who is not a procrastinator. Yet, this has become my travel routine; rush, rush, rush, then board the plane, completely exhausted.  But, the reward of boarding the plane, and being seated with absolutely nothing to do but enjoy my vacation, is heavenly.  I know how to relax.

The silver lining in all this, is the apparent correlation with procrastination and creativity.  It’s nice to know that I can attribute all the arts and crafts awards from my childhood, and the many creative ventures that currently occupy my time, to my bad habits.  Although I am grateful for being gifted in creativity, there must be a better balance.  After all, procrastination is detrimental to my health, each time I put off doing exercises or delay routine physicals. The more knowledgeable I have about the pros and cons of procrastination, should assist me in setting more realistic goals.  To quit procrastinating, altogether, is unrealistic, and unwanted if it means losing one of the qualities that makes me unique.