Procrastination has become easier in the last two decades, thanks to tools like paraphrase converters and ChatGPT. Yet, for master procrastinators like me, it still feels unsatisfying.I still get this sinking feeling in my gut when I miss an important deadline or disappoint another one of my teachers. It may seem like an easy fix to the untrained mind: just do the work earlier. If it were only that easy, we would not have any of the aforementioned tools.
Many people view procrastination as laziness, but it’s often about anxiety over the difficulty of tasks, leading to spending time on less important things instead. This is what John Perry, a philosophy professor at Stanford, writes about structured procrastination: “Structured procrastination means shaping the structure of the tasks one has to do in a way that exploits this fact. The list of tasks one has in mind will be ordered by importance. Tasks that seem most urgent and important are on top. But there are also worthwhile tasks to perform lower down on the list. Doing these tasks becomes a way of not doing the things higher up on the list. With this sort of appropriate task structure, the procrastinator becomes a useful citizen. Indeed, the procrastinator can even acquire, as I have, a reputation for getting a lot done.”
Perry explains that structured procrastination is a way to effectively get things done; by putting things on a list, ranking them from most important to least important, you can get those things done if you use it as motivation for the avoidance of another task on the list. Although this is how I get most of my tasks done (including writing this article), there will always be one thing on my list that will not get done. My masterful, procrastinating brain will always provide an excuse as to why something does not get done. “I have already done work today,” or “I should do the dishes first and then call my mom,” or “I have to get something done before I go out this weekend or else it might not be worth it.”
It is important to remember that procrastination does not just show up in schoolwork or even professional work. Because I am so good at procrastinating, I can also procrastinate on going to bed by not getting ready for bed (which is what I am doing now by writing this article). I can also procrastinate on going grocery shopping, waking up, taking showers, cooking meals for myself, and the list just keeps on going.
My brain on procrastination, although very sweet and patient with me, has made life detrimentally difficult and unintentionally damaging. The pit in my stomach swells with each missing assignment and grows into a big ball of excuses and deadlines and illness. Is there a way to end this cyclical turmoil, I call out to the universe. The universe answers:
There may not be an end-all-be-all cure to procrastination just yet, but there are ways to manage it.
Hone Your Time Management Skills
This one is a classic. Set a billion reminders. Make good use of a planner. Convince yourself that a certain deadline is actually days before it actually is. The only downside to this is that if used incorrectly, it can get boring and repetitive after a while. However, the upside is that boredom and repetition create habits, which is how procrastination became your friend in the first place.
Practice Structured Procrastination
Another way to manage your procrastination is to use it against yourself., Like Professor John Perry, use your procrastination for one project as a motivation to guide you towards completing another. This is what I do most days, and it has proven to be most effective when faced with multiple tasks at once. Priority lists are key here, and you must be willing to make sacrifices.
Forgive Yourself
Procrastination, although kind to us, produces unkind results. We are forced to live with these results, and may become even more stressed and avoidant when faced with them. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. If you can’t force yourself into a motivated state, at least be kind to yourself when you are unmotivated to do anything.
Read more about the philosophy of structured procrastination here: https://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
And read some more tips for beating procrastination here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2016/04/15/10-scientifically-proven-tips-for-beating-procrastination/