Productivity | Self Improvement
2 Mental Behaviors That Are Way Worse than Mere Procrastination
Recognize them before it’s too late.
We all have procrastinated in our lives.
As a self-proclaimed master procrastinator myself, I found it utterly revealing to know that there are great ways to procrastinate. I can procrastinate better? Are you kidding me? I’m all in!
Then I started “the great procrastination game.”
I took more healthy naps, listened to useful podcasts, watched some funny cat videos to brighten up my day, gave myself more time to rest and do nothing rather than mindlessly look for distractions — all were, I admit, indeed necessary for my mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
But it became a paradox.
Mostly when I’m procrastinating, the other side of me — my long-buried “disciplinary heart” — keeps asking myself: how can I know if I’m not just making excuses to postpone things? Am I procrastinating to give myself some rest, or am I silently moving away from progress?
I always set deadlines, but I’m usually a “later” person than a “do now” person. I believe it boosts my creative process, as Adam Grant once said in his amazing TED Talk, and fortunately for me; yes, it does.
However, for non — or less — creative tasks, the act of procrastination often fatigued me more than the effort it took to do the work. Completed tasks are much more fulfilling and energizing, in contrast, incomplete ones drain my energy like leaks from a tank.
You’re Not Procrastinating, You’re Suffering from “Analysis Paralysis”
Procrastination is a common human tendency. About 20% of adults have regular bouts of procrastination, and 70–90% of undergraduates are chronic putter-offers.
However, some people practice procrastination by hiding behind high-sounding words, saying “I’m analyzing” and six months later they are still analyzing. I was this person. And what I didn’t realize was that I was suffering from “analysis paralysis”.
“Suffering” sounds like a strong word. But I don’t mean suffering in a way that you have a serious mental illness, rather, a kind of suffering that drains your energy and makes you mentally exhausted.
Analysis paralysis typically happens as an anxiety response. It can trigger a cycle of worry, fear, and rumination that can be hard to disrupt on your own.
The effects of “deep procrastination” such as analysis paralysis are mostly indirect and far-reaching. One of the most damaging effects is fatigue. Tiredness is mostly physical, while fatigue is emotional and mental.
A way to beat analysis paralysis is to recognize that you won’t get something done only by analyzing it in your head. It seems obvious, but most of us don’t fully realize it until someone — or something — alerts us.
My brother was the one who woke me up. Before I started writing on this platform, I was analyzing everything for months, I enjoyed doing it, until one day he said to my face, “What do you get by analyzing all this?”
Of course, gathering data for analysis is not bad, but we know that “too much of anything is good for nothing”. We won’t get anything without actually doing the thing.
You’re Not Procrastinating, You’re Suffering from “Excusitis”
Some people procrastinate by saying “I’m getting ready” and six months later they are still getting ready until the time comes that they don’t have any energy left to do the work.
What they don’t realize is they are possibly suffering from “Excusitis”. In a book called Excusitis, the Biggest Killer of All, the author Coral Cara says that “excusitis” is a phrase for worldwide inertia toward health and wellbeing.
Excusitis is the mental behavior of someone who keeps making excuses. It’s a way of thinking that is always looking for reasons.
Don’t get me wrong — reasoning is great. But ask yourself: are the reasons limiting your work process? Are they keeping you away from progress?
If the answers to both questions are yes, then they’re not reasons; they’re excuses.
Every failure has an “excusitis behavior” in its advanced form. And most average persons have at least a mild case of it. But we all know for sure that successful people make no, if not fewer, excuses.
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. “ — Benjamin Franklin
The Biggest Regret
The saddest words in life are: • “I should have…” • “I could have…” • “I wish I had…” • “If only I had…”
The 2 kinds of deep procrastination that I mentioned above are way worse than mere procrastination.
What is the biggest regret out there? I’d say it’s the regret that not because we didn’t do something, but because we didn’t do it earlier.
Doing something and finding out you’re wrong in the process is better because you could learn from your mistakes and you’re already going ahead.
Now imagine if you were all prepared, but when you finally did it; it’s too late. Imagine all the time and opportunities that go to waste while you were preparing yourself for the big games.
The big games are not happening now because someone else — other than you — has already taken the leap and took your chance.
“Even a correct decision is wrong when it was taken too late. “ — Lee Iacocca
Regret is very painful. But it’s never too late to change. If you want to live with no regrets from now on, learn the phrase “do it now” and stop the habit of procrastination.
Utilize the Present Moment
What time is it and where are we? The answer is “now” and “we are here”.
Life is not a dress rehearsal. No matter what philosophy you believe in — we’ve got only one shot at this game called life. Instead of making excuses, why don’t we make the best of now and utilize the present to the fullest?
I’m not saying we don’t need to plan our future. Quite the opposite, actually. We need to plan for the future by utilizing the present moment. If we utilize our present to its fullest, we are sowing the seeds for a better future automatically, aren’t we?
So start now, take little progress every single day, make the most of your present time. Do it before it’s too late. Because as the adage goes, it may sound cliche, but we know it’s true:
“Life is too short to wake up with regrets.“— Harvey MacKay