The Good, The Bad, The Procastination

Procrastination.  Hate that word. Even hate to say it. It’s too long! But it’s something we all experience. There are times when it can work against you, like when you have a deadline in 24 hours on a project you had two weeks to complete. For that kind of procrastination, there are tons of articles and websites that deal with how to better manage your time.  I even wrote an entire chapter on it in the textbook I wrote for medical transcription students and newbie MTs. So this post is not about how to stop with the P word.

There’s the other kind of procrastination.  You’ll tackle cleaning out the closet next weekend. You’ll call the dentist tomorrow for sure. There’s always a box full of pictures to organize. But that’s a winter project, right? I can’t tell you how many cross stitch projects I have started and not finished, and even the finished ones need to be framed.  Then there’s that novel you want to write. Maybe you’ve started a chapter or two, or you have an outline or made some general notes, did some research.  But that’s as far as you’ve gotten, even though you know you will get it done, eventually. 

What’s my point? Just that I think it’s perfectly okay to procrastinate.  It doesn’t mean you won’t  organize those pictures, clean that closet—or write that novel. What if you finally get to that closet and find way back on an upper shelf a box full of pictures (oh no, more pictures to organize!), but find they are of your mom when she was a little girl or maybe an old forgotten friend? What if you finish that novel, publish it, and people actually love it? It could even be a best seller.  Hey, anything is possible! If you really and truly want to accomplish something, whether it’s simple or a bit more complex, you’ll get there.

To my way of thinking, there is a big difference between putting off and giving up. It might not matter how long you put something off, but it might matter if you give up.

Thanks for hanging out. And never, ever put off enjoying your day!