Summary

The article discusses the potential benefits of procrastination, such as self-analysis and personal growth, and offers strategies for overcoming it, emphasizing concentration and focus.

Abstract

The author of the article reflects on their personal experiences with procrastination, revealing how it led to significant self-analysis and eventual personal growth. Initially, procrastination was a source of self-victimization, stemming from fear of judgment and feelings of inferiority. However, it also provided the author with the opportunity to engage in deep self-examination, which resulted in positive life changes such as quitting smoking, losing weight, and gaining self-respect. The article suggests that procrastination can serve as a catalyst for self-assessment, allowing individuals to avoid confronting the limits of their abilities. The author also explores the concept of displacement as a psychological defense mechanism related to procrastination. To overcome procrastination, the author recommends progressive desensitization and practical steps like minimizing distractions, which can lead to greater productivity and acceptance of one's work by the public.

Opinions

Procrastination can lead to unexpected benefits such as self-understanding and personal growth.
The author views procrastination as a form of self-victimization, where individuals are responsible for their own discomfort and victimization.
Procrastination can be a way to avoid confronting the limits of one's abilities and the fear of judgment.
The author initially used journal writing as a form of displacement to avoid exposing their writing to evaluation.
Overcoming procrastination involved the author taking small steps towards greater exposure to feedback, which helped improve their writing.
The most effective tactic for overcoming procrastination, according to the author, is to concentrate and focus by removing distractions such as email, social media, and news sources.

Procrastination: Side Benefits and Solutions

A little-known way to exploit procrastination and not lose out

At times I have procrastinated for so long that I found an unexpected benefit in doing so. Read on for the story.

Procrastination is voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so. (Wiki)

If you are uncomfortable justifying why you are not getting on with a particular task, then you need to accept that you are probably guilty of procrastination.

Who has not been a victim of this common problem? And why is a solution so hard to find? (I don’t pretend to know the answer.)

Procrastination as a Catalyst for Self-Analysis

In my case, it has been a catalyst for self-analysis. My productions stopped on the cusp of execution. I used the old excuse: what I want to produce is not good enough, so why bother?

Then I explore my reasons for wanting to do x and why I don’t. It feels like such a waste of productive time. But it happens; we all do it and yet deplore it also.

Fortunately, in my case, the avoidance has led to prolonged self-analysis. This has given me a significant amount of self-understanding, which has helped later personal growth.

I learned how to stop smoking, lose weight and find a new ideal to strive for: self-respect. These are not insignificant achievements. Admittedly, however, I managed to overcome procrastination in doing so.

Procrastination as Self-Victimization

A deeper analysis suggests procrastination is about being the cause of one’s victimization. You are responsible for your victimization. And you are the cause of your discomfort.

The problem arises when an ability is considered the sole determinant of your self-worth. Whatever your performance, it is the sole measure of your worth. An outstanding performance means you must be an exceptional person.

The benefit of Procrastination for Self-Assessment

With procrastination, you are free to think better of yourself. Only the execution will arouse questions.

A part of me loves procrastination. As long as you procrastinate, you never have to confront the limits of your ability.

I avoid action and decisions out of fear of judgment. I procrastinate because I don’t want to risk inferiority feelings.

I started my journal because I didn’t want to disclose the content of my thoughts, research, or stories.

My view was: they were not good enough, and thus I did not want to disclose them. It’s like airing dirty laundry in public.

In my experience, the most telling sign of procrastination is displacement. Displacement is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person redirects a negative emotion from its source to a less threatening recipient.

“A classic example of the defense is displaced aggression.1 If a person is angry but cannot direct their anger toward the source without consequences, they might “take out” their anger on a person or thing that poses less risk.”

In my case, my displacement takes the form of journal writing. Since I was unsure about my writing abilities, I did not want to expose my writing to any evaluation.

Instead, I satisfied my wish for self-expression by writing in a journal. But I realized that this ‘solution’ did not help promote feedback by which my writing might improve.

Nor did it allow any recognition or rewards, which I would have welcomed.

It was only by progressive desensitization that I finally felt free to bring my inside thinking out to the external world.

In other words, by taking small steps towards greater exposure to the reading public, I realized that my writing could gain acceptance, if only to a modest degree.

The №1 Best Tactic for Overcoming

The literature on overcoming procrastination is voluminous. The only tactic I find helpful and easy to implement is concentration and focus.

If you are vulnerable to distraction, try disconnecting yourself as much as possible. Keep the door shut to your workspace. Close all access to email, social media, and the phone and shut down any news source.

Better to have short term simple solutions to a problem. The literature on procrastination proposes many solutions. The reader can check here for suggestions.

In sum, procrastination is a frequent result of living. It is here to stay, but it can be alleviated if you find substitute activities to pursue that fulfill your interests. When the job is unavoidable, cut down on distractions.