Procrastination: the plague on self-discipline. We all do it. We all know we do it. And we all know we shouldn’t do it. And yet, we have a hard time not doing it. What is it that makes us so prone to postponement?
John Perry, philosophy professor and author of The Art Of Procrastination: A Guide To Effective Dawdling, Dallying, Lollygagging And Postponing, says that we procrastinate because we find the task at the top of our priority list intimidating. To combat our natural flaw, Perry explains the art of Structured Procrastination, or using the power of procrastination to be productive. Basically, provided the task at the top of the priority list is mammoth and overwhelming, the more important tasks underneath it look like a walk in the park.
Not doing the very thing that we want done seems bizarre and illogical. However, Perry asserts that squelching our natural tendency toward putting things off is equally bizarre and unnatural; that it is an uphill battle waged against our innate humanity. We procrastinate in order to assert our independence and to prove that we are self-ruled when we feel our lives are out of our control. Rather than flogging our flaws and minimizing our commitments, as so many anti-procrastination campaigns encourage, structured procrastination lets us maintain our motivation of too many things to do, and direct our flaws toward a positive end.
Some of you may agree with Perry whereas some of you may think structured procrastination is absurd and that we all just need to light a fire under our seats. I thought I was the latter … until I realised I’m writing this blog instead of the proposal I have due.
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