Procrastinate For Efficiency

Procrastination is not always bad.

We often associate procrastination as an act (or inaction) that negatively impacts our productivity. Procrastination often stems from avoidance, or escaping from doing something, possibly because that task is considered to be difficult in some way. Or you simply do not enjoy doing that task. This leads to the delay in task completion, which affects the productivity. You may feel guilty because you did not complete the task as planned. You may feel pressured or stress because there is now another item left on your to-do list.

For example, if you are scheduled to give a presentation. Instead of planning and preparing for it a couple of weeks ahead, you keep giving yourself different excuses to not touching the presentation. When the presentation is three days away, you feel stressed because you are not prepared. You feel guilty because you think you should have worked on the talk sooner. You are beating yourself up. You are mad at yourself for procrastinating.

When you procrastinate, recognize that is what you are doing.

Ask yourself why you are doing it. Are you delaying some kind of suffering?

What is it costing you? Think about if you do it as planned compared to if you decide to delay the process. When you procrastinate, it may have serious consequences.

Take the example of oncology patients. If someone is diagnosed with acute leukemia, that patient should have been treated yesterday – provided that the patient is physically fit enough to be considered for any systemic therapy. However, that patient is not making a decision to proceed with treatment or to refuse treatment. That procrastination in decision making is literally a ticking time bomb. Acute leukemia progresses rapidly. It may come to the point of no return of the disease progression if the patient keeps on procrastinating. The most common reason for patients refusing or delaying the decision for treatment is fear. Fear of potential adverse effects which may cause suffering. That fear is sometimes so big that it clouds the big picture. In this case, it is the consequences of not starting treatment in time which may be death.

Procrastination is usually associated with some kind of fear. Fear of suffering. Fear of not getting a job done well. Fear of too big of a task to handle.

To minimize the unwanted procrastination, it is important to plan ahead. Plan with as much detail as possible. It is best to plan your day by listing the specific tasks to do, in hourly time slots. Stick with your plan as much as possible. Set small goals so it is more achievable. This is to avoid procrastination from feeling overwhelmed.

Remember why you are doing the task. What is the goal you are trying to achieve?

Celebrate any wins along the way, big and small.

Avoid distractions. While you are doing the task, turn off any email or social media notifications. If possible, put your phone away.

Take breaks. When you take regular scheduled breaks, it is easier for your mind to focus during the shorter time frame to work, and it is less likely to procrastinate.

Not all procrastination is bad.

There is the intentional kind of procrastination. What I mean is you are delaying to do a task because you are prioritizing another task. You choose to procrastinate because you are focusing on your why. You are delaying a task in order to do something else first. This is different from you delaying a task because you are avoiding it.

Intentional procrastination will get you closer to your goal.

Intentional procrastination will increase your productivity and efficiency. For example, during a busy clinic day of seeing patients, you decide to delay seeing the next patient for a few minutes, so that you can finish the previous patient’s chart and orders. Or instead of checking the email messages as they arrive in your inbox, you delay to check them at specific time slots in your day, so that you can focus on direct patient care.

In other words, prioritizing your task is a kind of intentional procrastination. As it is not possible for one person to be doing multiple things simultaneously, it is a skill to learn what to do first and what you can delay to do, while keeping your goal in mind.

 Procrastination, when it is planned intentionally, will increase your efficiency and productivity. It is important to remember why you are doing what you are doing. It is also important to always examine if what you are prioritizing is really bringing you closer toward your goal – if it is not, try something different.