The Power of Procrastination

In case you one of those smart people who wait anxiously every Tuesday evening to get a copy of the Vector, I am sure you wouldn’t have missed the numerous ads about Jorge Cham’s speech on the very same topic during the Graduate Research Day here at NJIT.

Every time I see the ad, I keep telling myself, it’s actually me who is supposed to give a talk on procrastination, having mastered it all these years. But then I figured, there won’t be a soul in the university that would stop by to listen even if I shout from the top of my voice. So I decided that I will write about it. This way I am guaranteed at least two readers: Me and my alter ego.

First of all, procrastination ain’t bad. Some of the most immaculate people I know are terrible procrastinators. Yet they do well in what they do. Ever since we learnt to hold a pencil and construct decent sentences, we have always been told to do things on time and not to postpone. In fact, I am reminded of number of Urdu couplets that emphasize the same. Is finishing things before time so important? (Before the teachers/parents march out to burn me alive-just to put things in perspective, there is a difference between before time and on time)

Over the years, the word, “procrastinate” has become derogatory and insulting. That’s primarily because we “procrastinators” let things get out of hand. Maybe we procrastinated too much! But what does procrastination mean? Is it the stereotypical meaning of laziness?

Procrastination is a skill in itself. Not everyone is good at it. It takes some aptitude to play the “lazy” game. It is probably one of the toughest to play. How many among us have the wherewithal to perform under pressure and amidst paucity of time? It is only in these pressure situations that true character emerges. Yes, it helps in character building. The rare few who can handle the pressure often have rushed lives, or many deadlines, whichever applies, but the point is that they can handle the pressure that procrastination gives and they come on top.

Procrastination has been given a negative connotation for some strange reason. It is actually a good thing. Sure, it sounds counterintuitive. Many of us procrastinate but we aren’t very proud of the same. That’s because of the negativity that society has attached to it. Procrastination establishes an environment in which the creative juices can flow. No wonder most artists are terrible procrastinators.

Procrastination has its obvious advantages. The people that don’t put things off and do all the work on time are nicknamed “geeks”. And of course, the geeks don’t get the girls, do they?? On a more serious note, procrastinators build in themselves a sense of self reliance that helps them to overcome any sort of obstacle.
You can find an awful lot of literature on how to overcome the habit of procrastinating. But in reality, it is not really possible not to procrastinate as at any point in time you have a bunch of jobs to take care of. Therefore some job or the other does get delayed. So the essential question to answer is how to procrastinate well? The answer to the question lies in how well you are able to set your priorities right. The moment you learn to prioritize, you will never have to procrastinate!

To twist the MasterCard tag line:

“There are some things in life that need immediate attention, for everything else there is Procrastination!