This is the topic we tackled in today’s or the 161st episode of the “Leadership without Leadership” podcast with Reelika Jeferjevand we naturally came to the conclusion that there are good things to be found in procrastination. For example, creativity can mature, or we can take time to just rest and be, because the body resists.
But we also found angles of procrastination linked to, for example, the identity renewal phase. I’ve noticed that people tend to procrastinate when they know somewhere inside that they can’t do it the old way (job, relationship, etc.), but they don’t dare to do it the new way, and it’s easier to procrastinate and suffer. In essence, they avoid themselves. Perhaps the impulse to procrastinate may be a sign of the beginning of something new and fresh.
But we also often put it off for fear of succeeding or failing. Out of fear of being seen. Out of fear of creating conflict. Fear of taking responsibility. Fear of being judged. Fear of feeling imperfect.
There’s more to take away from the hour-long episode, but one question should serve the procrastinator well when procrastination comes up: what part of me is doing this at the moment, and how old is it?
Then we may notice that it is not really the present self that is being postponed, but a story from the past that resurfaces and automatically forces us to move away from the discomfort, or to postpone the recurrence of the discomfort.
Procrastination can sometimes be solved by better time planning and discipline, by taking stock of things in your life. But for the sometimes recurring procrastinator, who may also be accompanied by feelings of guilt, shame or low self-esteem, it is worth taking a journey deeper into oneself. Procrastinating, that is, not putting off working on yourself until the distant future. Otherwise, we get caught up in the guilt of postponing life and self-deprecating thoughts.
And isn’t meeting fatigue or indecisiveness also sometimes a way of procrastination, with roots that go beyond today and today’s role?
Photo: Andrea Piacquadio
