“Procrastination is entitlement”: as with all simple statements, this one—a prompt from a speaking challenge I was part of—sent me in several conflicting directions.
I’m generally not a procrastinator. In fact, I’m almost the opposite. I’m the type of person who likes to get the hard part over with first. I eat the food that I like least on my plate first leaving the most delicious parts to savour. I do the most difficult hiking day at the beginning so I can enjoy the scenery and the rhythm of the rolling hills at the back end. One of my coaches says your to-do list should go from “shit-to-sugar” so the worst things you have to do in a day are done by 10:00. And while my business to-do list is mostly driven by my strategic priorities first, I do naturally lean into the hard stuff rather than avoid it.
However, after coaching people for 15-years I know that there is a lot of nuance under the umbrella term “procrastination”. It saddens me that many people feel guilt around their procrastination tendencies because guilt isn’t useful. When procrastination comes up with my clients, I always dig deeper to identify the specifics. What are the themes of the things you tend to procrastinate? Is it writing something creative, starting a project, calling someone you don’t know, or engaging with someone in a position of authority? Do you resist structure or rules? Do you procrastinate having difficult conversations? Together, we explore their patterns, triggers, assumptions, fears, inner monologue, and reactive tendencies. We assess their personality styles and traits, and design strategies related to their specific circumstances. Sometimes what they think is procrastination, isn’t procrastination at all; sometimes it’s part of their creative process or their problem solving technique. My approach is to start with: “Where does it serve you and where does it not?”
Returning to the original statement: there is a truth embedded in it too. The idea that there will always be tomorrow to do that thing you didn’t do today; that there will always be another opportunity to reach out to that person; that there will always be a chance to go on that trip you’ve always wanted to go on. That assumption that ‘later’ exists is entitlement in a way.
So, what types of things do you tend to procrastinate? How does it serve you and how doesn’t it?
