Procrastination Redefined

If I ever got around to polling writers, I bet procrastination would be one of the top detriments to success. There are so many loop threads and blogs bemoaning it and how to overcome it that it would seem nothing new could be offered.

Pier Steel, PhD in his book "The Procrastination Equation" says psychologists and psychiatrists long believed procrastination and perfection were linked without realizing that it was perfectionists who most often sought help. Steel pulled his test group from random college students and found procrastination was more widespread than first thought.

Even more interesting was that it stemmed from various motivations. For instance, do you have low expectations? Maybe you value enjoyment more than the abstract rewards of tasks that seem irrelevant? Perhaps you’re simply impulsive, easily distracted, and hate to wait. Dr. Steel further divided expectation, values, and time into reasons people procrastinate. He offers actions for each particular type of procrastinator.

*Someone with low self-expectancy can build confidence by improving a skill that is already an interest, though unrelated. This is why students who have extracurricular activities often improve their grades. *Boredom can be avoided by increasing challenge through competition thereby increasing the value of a task. This is an idea most of us understand, but not all find comfortable or stimulating.
*Impulses can be managed by preventing your needs from becoming intense enough to cause distractions. Most surprising is this that type of person actually works harder by first scheduling something pleasurable. Could this account for that euphoric rush of creativity following an ACFW conference?

Procrastination is linked to personality type, which is how God made you. Understanding how to address your particular needs will prevent a personality type from becoming a personality flaw and possibly leading to sin. While procrastination isn’t always a sin, it can be if our delay misses God’s timing or plan for our lives.

We all procrastinate at some time or another. As writers, let’s not equate it with negative personal experience or culture by labeling it “lazy” or “immature”. Procrastination literally means “in favor of tomorrow”. This is only negative when the delay is irrational or not in our best interest. When diligent people procrastinate they call it “prioritizing” which is making wise and positive choices for available time, energy, and circumstances.

To sum it up, not all procrastination is equal. Expectancy, Value, and Time each create different reasons for Delay. Understanding how to self-motivate can unlock some mysteries for delay – and help solve the problem of procrastination.

Mary Allen lives in the Midwest with her husband and a German Short Hair Pointer. She loves God's Word which never changes and also enjoys playing with words which can be endlessly changed. She writes about God's Truth, Women's Fiction and was the La Porte County Poet Laureate from 2010-2011.