Procrastinating is bad. Action is good. You must find ways to stop procrastination, right? Not necessarily.
Sometimes procrastination, as the word suggests, is more of a pro than a con.
Here are three ways procrastination can serve you instead of hindering you:
Procrastination Ages Ideas
I love a good wine—especially a nice aged merlot or syrah. I don’t know much about wine but I do know that if the winery was to make the wine and then stick it in a bottle the next day, it would taste pretty lousy. Some things just take time. They need to sit for awhile
Take my Up From Splat website, for instance. I’d been wanting to get focused on one specific project for months. I’ve bounced around from this to that, but I just couldn’t seem to get myself into useful motion. I spent a lot of time reading novels and walking my dog … procrastinating. But it turns out I needed that time to let my various options age a bit so once I got an idea that inspired action, I was revved up and ready to go.
Procrastination gives your ideas time to meld themselves into a workable whole.
Procrastination Facilitates Alignment
The second way procrastination helps you is it gives you time to align with your action.
Any action taken out of alignment is wasted. If you’ve never heard of Abraham-hicks or law of attraction, alignment just means that you don’t have resistance to the idea. You’re not in some negative state of emotion about it. You don’t have fears that it won’t work or doubts that you can do it or resentment that you have to do it.
The only actions worth taking are the ones that feel really good—as in the whole of you is on board with the idea.
For instance, have you ever started a diet or exercise program and gone off it right away? Why couldn’t you stay on the diet? You weren’t aligned. I’ve wasted a lot of effort trying to push myself into diets when I resent the fact that I have to diet. Diets work when you procrastinate long enough about losing weight that you finally let go of resistance about it. When you feel positive about a weight loss plan, it’s time to start action. That’s when you’ll find it easy to stick with a diet.
Procrastination Keeps You Out Of Trouble
Let’s say you’re thinking about buying a new house. You want to get started on a house hunt but you can’t seem to get in motion. You have no idea why you’re not moving. Well, what if your higher self—that part of you that’s plugged into divine knowing –knows that the right house is coming on the market next month. If you push into action now, you’ll miss out on your great house.
Sometimes, or rather, often, the unconscious part of you knows a lot more than the conscious part.
If it goes on for too long, procrastination can hold you back from reaching goals. But it also can be just what you need.
Doing nothing isn’t always doing nothing. Sometimes it’s the most important thing you can be doing. Sometimes the last thing you need to do is find ways to stop procrastination.
So go do nothing and feel darn good about it.
I could not agree more. Procrastination is extremely and and not beneficial. If you wait for something too long, or leave it off for tomorrow, there is a really good chance that it will never get done – or accomplished. This can yield extremely bad results – say for example you have a great idea for an article – but you decide to wait till tomorrow. Well tomorrow comes and now that article you wanted to write has already been written by someone else and they get the credit. If you want to do something – do it right away!
zoopco´s recent blog post ..Make EASY Holiday Money With Amazon
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
I agree, zoopco, that sometimes procrastination can be a problem even though other times it serves us. When we’re tapped into our inner guidance, we know when it’s time to wait, and when it’s time to act.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..Do You Moodle Enough
Twitter: lavenderuses
says:
Hi Ande
I like your different take on procrastination. Bit like the opposite to impulse! I sure know about that one!!! If I had procrastinated a bit longer I wouldn’t have got sucked into a few of the scams that go under the guise of “internet marketing coach”!
I now research thoroughly and only then do I take that step needed to move my blog forward. Poorer but wiser from all those experiences. So grateful to Andy for starting up this wonderful commentluv community. thanks for sharing an interesting post.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia´s recent blog post ..Lavender Products Galore-Must Be Party Time
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
Oh, I hear you, Patricia, about getting sucked into the coaching scams. If I’d done more procrastinating and less jumping on bandwagons a few years ago, I’d have saved some money. Now I listen to inner guidance and don’t move until I feel really, really good about something.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..Do You Moodle Enough
Ande,
I am amazed at how optimistic and wonderful you are. I once used to be like that, but sadly my few years long battle with depression has taken it away from me.
Any how, I love how you take something totally negative (at least from most people’s perspective) and turn it into something positive and wonderful. This is what they mean when they say, captivate your audience. Great job and I am on my way to subscribe to your blog.
satrap´s recent blog post ..10 Reasons to Consider Selling Services Online as a Way to Make Money
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
Thank you, Satrap, for your lovely comment. I’ve been in that long battle of depression too, and it took time to get to a point where I can keep my mood up even in the face of seemingly “bad” circumstances. I’m so happy you’re subscribing to Up From Splat because I’m all about sharing stories and perspectives that help shift out of that depressive state of mind. So happy to meet you.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..Do You Moodle Enough
I always loved the following quote – Procrastination is the Thief of Time…
Sam´s recent blog post ..Table of Airlines that Fly to Cairo Egypt by State for the US
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
That’s a good quote, for sure, Sam! Sometimes, though, we hang on to things that need to be stolen.
Like time we’re using in ways that aren’t ideal.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..How To Flip Faults Into Assets
lol nice post….Procrastination is something that has helped me in my poetry too, there have been many times when i have left some poems and have gone back to them with better ideas…..
animecrazy´s recent blog post ..My Little Box Arslan Poetry Blog
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
Yes, often, walking away from a piece of writing and “procrastinating” about it is the best thing to do. We need to realize that choosing not to do something doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..How To Flip Faults Into Assets
Twitter: rwperkinsjr
says:
Ah the art of procrastination. While I can see your point about letting fine wine age I must say I have missed many an opportunity by dragging my feet. Sometimes you have to be able to recognize and seize the moment to prosper.
I am currently involved in a launch that if I would have procrastinated I would have missed out on $1800 so far. That would not have been a beneficial procrastination. This program started out offering $50 to join them and after 100k or so they decided to drop the bonus to $25. If I had procrastinated I would have missed out on 50% of the profit.
Since I am a “anything can be done tomorrow that can be done today” kind of guy then I am a procrastinator. I have always been a procrastinator. I have missed out on lots of stuff being a procrastinator. So I moved to New Mexico, The Land of Mañana (The Land of Tomorrow). It is actually the “Land of Enchantment” but the local residents changed it to fit the local attitudes here. The also changed it to “The Land of Entrapment” but that’s a whole other story there.
I have a 9-5 job besides my little blogging thing and the headquarters is in big bustling Dallas, Texas. They are the type of people that want everything done yesterday. My boss and I will discuss a project and he expects that it be done within a day or two of talking about it. yeah right.
Since I live and work 100 miles from anywhere it takes time to get parts in to do projects. If you have ever watched the movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” you will get the hint. I live in the same geographical oddity that they got stuck in, two weeks from everywhere. This drives my corporate headquarters batty! The closest big city is Albuquerque, NM. We get deliveries on Thursdays, if you miss the truck you wait until next Thursday or you climb in your truck and go get it yourself. Don’t want to procrastinate here! lol.
I hate procrastination so I think I’ll do something about it… later… maybe…
Richard´s recent blog post ..Maybe You Can Help – Spray Nozzle
Twitter: andewaggener
says:
Richard, you’re great comment shows the importance of having an inner guidance system that tells you when it’s okay to “drag your feet” and when you need to jump. I know what you mean about living away from things. I’m not quite as remote, but I live in a small town on the coast, well away from towns of any size, and there’s a whole different pace to life here. It’s helped me find balance between rushing into things and hanging back when it feels right.
Ande Waggener´s recent blog post ..How To Flip Faults Into Assets