I Put the Pro in Procrastination

Procrastination as a Super Power

The clock ticks, pressure builds, stress levels rise, and just when it seems too late—creative genius begins. Is it too late or right on time? Is it a weakness or a strength? I have many years of experience with procrastination. Instead of looking at it as a weakness I have decided to see it as a strength. For years I saw it as a weakness and it only seemed to make me procrastinate even more. Viewing procrastination as a super power has helped me to better manage my time.

Procrastination & Perfectionism

What if I told you that procrastination and perfectionism were first cousins, would you believe that they are so closely related? One of the reasons most procrastinators procrastinate is because they are waiting on the perfect conditions to begin. Perfect conditions don’t exist and the sooner I started to realize this the more it helped motivate me to use the imperfect margin that was staring me in the face. When I find myself procrastinating I will ask myself, “What are you avoiding?” Whatever the answer to that question is, will become my incentive to finish what I’m doing.

For example, if I get the urge to do laundry (laundry has been my nemesis for years), I know there is something I’m avoiding because laundry and I aren’t friends. Laundry will always need to be done in a household the size of ours, so a longing to do it tells me that I’m operating on borrowed time. Time that belongs to something else, something that I am either really looking forward to (like creating something), or something I am dreading (like checking boxes). You might wonder why I would put off doing something that I am looking forward to; the answer is two fold. Either I feel unworthy of giving myself permission to do something I like (so I do something I loathe to make me feel responsible and use that which I love as an incentive to finish), or I have trained myself to operate off of borrowed time for so long that I subconsciously wind the clock, creating pressure which empowers me to produce.

Permission to Proceed

I’ve been wanting to write about this subject for quite some time but I procrastinated (go figure) because I felt like it would be fun. For some reason (perhaps because I am a procrastinator) I felt I had to delay writing about weird topics that truly excite me, as if the supervisor of blogs was going to call me into his office and say, “Did you fail to read the fine print? You’ve only been blogging for a few days, you are still on probation. It’s too early for you to expose your readers to the thoughts deep within the recesses of your mind.”

As I approach 40 these idiosyncrasies no longer embarrass me. I have been this way for so long there is no need to pretend that I am going to wake up tomorrow and be a person who is prepared. Somehow I have been able to navigate through life with my own special way of being. My high school speech teacher had a quote on the front of his podium that he made me read to the class each morning when I would walk in tardy.

Over and over I read that quote and I learned exactly what it said, “Lack of preparation or planning on my part does not constitute an emergency on anyone else’s part.” Due to that quote, I don’t expect empathy from others when I procrastinate; I own my weakness and marvel at God’s strength. Somehow and someway God seems to work things out for my good and his glory. I am definitely created in God’s image and likeness. I believe God is the most productive procrastinator of all time.

The Greatest Procrastinator of All Time

God produced some of his greatest works in a procrastinator-like fashion. During the wedding at Cana, Jesus told his mom that his time had not yet come (He was procrastinating). Then Jesus performed his first miracle. When Moses held out his staff and God parted the red sea, he waited to the very last minute to show up. When Lazarus died, Jesus waited until he had been dead for four days before he raised him from the dead. Jesus rose from the grave on the third day (He could’ve rose on the same day). God gets great glory out of stories of triumph that could have easily ended in tragedy. My life is similar in that God graces me to do amazing things with little or no preparation. Put down your stones people. I am not saying his from a prideful place. I am simply acknowledging that I live my life totally dependent on God; and like the professional procrastinator he is, he may not show up when we want Him to but he’s always right on time. (Mic drop) #jesuswasaprocrastinator

There are many positive advantages of being a procrastinator. This is a topic that I will definitely revisit. There is so much I would like to say on this subject but of course, you’ll have to wait for it. I plan on staying true to my divine design. I will wait until the last minute to write it… Tomorrow.

Are you a professional procrastinator?

Have you spent most of your life despising procrastination as a weakness?

Name some benefits of procrastination in the comments below. Don’t be afraid, the Blog Boss won’t write you up for your honest answers.

For every person who is a “preparer” that reads this, how did it make you feel? Did you like my hashtag? It’s my favorite.

Love you to life!

Toya