Why DO we procrastinate? This is a deep, deep subject.
It is something that has been heavily studied by top research scientists. Why? Because we all do it. Whether we are the most practical of planners or the most irresponsible of slackers, there is some level of procrastination that inevitably goes on in our lives.
Here’s a really great Ted Talk on the subject.
Procrastination Station
Take blogging for instance. Here I am, a Pacific Northwest travel blogger. My website hasn’t been around all that long, and yet so far, I have written about so many great things. Things that have inspired people to come visit my area of the planet. And I haven’t even begun to cover all there is…there is so much more to write. And yet I find myself at a loss of what to write next. The PNW is a vast, beautiful playground. There are literally thousands of topics I have yet to write on all things Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. (oooohhh, I envision another ‘Epic Road Trip’ blog post looming!)
And yet here I am, writing about procrastination instead. WTF??? I am truly a deer in the headlights. I am frozen with the sheer amount of choices that lay before me, uncertain of where to go from here.
Look, we’re all busy. Myself included. Sometimes our minds are just too bogged down with other things: our jobs, our relationships, our family – that great BBQ sandwich you had for lunch that you couldn’t quite finish because you decided to scarf down a ton of macaroni salad on the side and now your stomach is reading you the riot act….you get my drift. The last thing you want to think about is that next project you really should be turning your attention to. Sometimes our brains just need a rest.
Writer’s Block??? Nah…I’m just lazy.
And so I open up my laptop to start a Word document on the next great Explorer Sue blog post – only to find myself on YouTube 30 seconds later, watching the latest episode of Hot Ones. (Seriously, this is a damn good show, check it out.) This usually happens when I have plenty of ideas for blog posts written down, I’m just not FEELING any of them at that particular moment. Know what I mean? I just don’t feel like writing about the ideas I have so painstakingly jotted down over many weeks. (Let’s face it: many months.)
Granted, there are many times I will be absolutely ready and raring to get a blog post down, and when that happens, the writing flows like a dream. It’s almost as if the blog post writes itself – it’s just using my fingers as a vessel to get it out into the world. THAT’S when things are easy. THAT’S when synchronicity happens. It’s beautiful.
But when you are going against the grain and torturing yourself with procrastination, it’s like you are constantly negotiating with yourself. “Well, if I just zone out for a couple of hours, I will totally work later into the evening to get it done. Go on, grab that slice of chocolate cake, pull up last’s week’s episode of The Blacklist, and treat yourself to some tasty Raymond Reddington.”
That’s how I negotiate with myself, anyway. Don’t judge.
And eventually, the things that NEED to get done, DO get done. And projects I plan for myself do eventually come to fruition. I’m not the worst procrastinator in the world. But part of me always wonders what my life would be like if I had NEVER procrastinated on anything. Would I be sitting on a beach in Maui, having already self-acquired my wealth? Would I be exploring the wilds of Patagonia (which, incidentally, is among the Top 5 in my bucket list of destinations.) Or maybe I wasn’t meant to do those things…just yet.
I keep coming back to something one of my professors said at university. She said, “We always do the best we can…at that moment.” This is one of the truest phrases I have ever heard. Think about it. Because even when we are at our worst, there is no other possible way to be other than what we are in the present.
That is some heavy shit, you guys.
But here’s the beautiful thing. Until we take our last breath, we will always have another chance. To improve, to be better. To get that thing done. To strive to be the person we want to be. To live our dreams. Until we keel over, the game isn’t over yet. One motto I live by is “Never Say Never.”
I think each and every one of us procrastinate to some degree. Some of us are just better at getting shit done than others. Does that make them more successful? Great question. If you have the answer, I’d love to hear it.
In the meantime, I’m going to see what sort of monumental sense Dembe has talked Red Reddington into this week.
