We know that in our recent article we were highlighting some tips to not put off until tomorrow what we could do right now! Well it turns out that taking our time pays off too. And not just a little!
Is procrastination a strategy for lazy and losers? Let’s find out!
Recent research in this area suggests that procrastination does not inevitably boil down to a sterile avoidance strategy that generates anxiety and suffering. Assumed and thoughtful, it could prove to be an excellent tool for sorting out your priorities, posing to reflect, let yourself be swept away by the present moment, stimulate your creativity and gain in performance when the time comes to act!
An engine!
The art of postponing everything until Greek Calends is not just about laziness, as we often hear. In 1930, in a Chicago Tribune column that appeared under the title “How to Cope with Your Chores,” comedian Robert Benchley claimed that “We can do anything, as long as we never do exactly what we are supposed to do..”
70 years later, the American philosopher John Perry theorized this intuition under the concept of “structured procrastination”. In his book, the Stanford University professor explains that “structured procrastination is the art of harnessing this weakness of character.” How?
He assumes that the procrastinator often dodges one action for another: he cleans up when he has to complete a case. And close a file when he has to sort his papers. In the end, he finds himself doing very useful things so that he doesn’t do what he has to do.
It is on this paradox that its program is based to transform this defect into quality! So, rather than blaming ourselves for not deciding to tidy up the garage (we’ve been talking about it for three months!), Let’s congratulate ourselves on this surge of energy that allowed us (in one afternoon of research on the Net) to prepare a fabulous trip to Asia for next winter …
A productive inactivity!
“Taking a step back is gaining momentum,” recalls MC Solaar. Procrastination allows things to infuse us. At the start of the 20th century, Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik revealed a cognitive phenomenon that would revolutionize psychology: once we have completed a task, we stop thinking about it, but when we stop and the task remains unfinished, we keep it in mind and we keep working on it in our heads.
This is why hesitating, postponing, taking breaks, dawdling can be extremely beneficial time for reflection: without even being aware of it, we feed our thoughts, we develop our strategy, we explore our creativity. So many decisive benefits when it comes time to roll up your sleeves.
Top creativity!
Adam Grant, professor of psychology at Wharton University (Pennsylvania), has shown that while procrastination is the enemy of productivity, it is the friend of creativity.
He cites the example of the boss of Apple, who defined himself as an expert in this mode of operation. The time Steve Jobs spent procrastinating and mulling things over was time well spent, as it allowed atypical ideas to emerge, rather than rushing into the conventional.
To substantiate his point, Grant conducted a study of management students who were asked to brainstorm ideas for start-ups. Some got started right away, others had 5 minutes to play on their computer. The proposals of those who had had a moment of pause before launching were judged to be more innovative!
Winning strategy!
A large study conducted at DePaul University (Chicago) since the 2000s found that procrastination is not always experienced. At the time of the liberal enterprise, overbooked employees (and women crushed by the mental burden) make it a strategy to tackle the files that accumulate.
On the one hand, they claim to save time and efficiency by taking action at the last moment: when the deadline approaches, they feel an impulse of activity, a boil that allows them to focus entirely on the task at hand.
On the other hand, they feel they save their energy resources by doing things all at once rather than in small chunks.
Especially since it often happens that certain urgent chores simply disappear from our priorities: either that another person has decided to take care of them in the meantime, or that they no longer are important for the moment to achieve them. This is one of the reasons why John Perry recommends “never to do anything today that can be gone by tomorrow.”
Maximum serenity!
In ancient Egypt, procrastinating meant “waiting for the right time”. In a way, this predisposition to expectation makes it possible to welcome serendipity, those happy coincidences which cause unexpected encounters or discoveries and make life more exciting.
Seize the impulses of the moment, respect your rhythm, gain peace of mind… Isabelle Barth, professor of management sciences at universities, evokes an “ecology” of procrastination “The gentle procrastinator respects the temporalities and chronobiology of the world that he surrounds. He doesn’t get upset because things aren’t moving fast enough. He lets go and lets time do its work. And, quite often, it ends up achieving its goal. Maybe not as fast as others. But with so much less stress and so much more serenity.” An example to follow tomorrow, even the day after tomorrow (there is no rush!).
Reference: https://blog.sanebox.com/2018/11/14/is-procrastination-really-a-bad-thing/
Photo de Andrea Piacquadio provenant de Pexels
