One of the most common complaints among adults, including students and educators, is procrastination. In fact, mentioning this word often gets an immediate reaction and a story from others about their own struggles with the “p-word.” We could all probably do an entire monologue on the topic. For example, take a look at this one from Ellen DeGeneres:
Did anything she mentioned sound familiar? Has anyone else taken the time to rearrange their CDs in various ways rather than face a task? Hopefully, it makes the point clear that not only can procrastinating be fun, it can also be productive.
Relax
One of the worst parts of procrastinating is the stress. This may be what leads to the procrastination in the first place—we feel overwhelmed by the task(s) before us—but the more the nervous tension increases, the longer we put doing something off, especially if it is something we must get done. This may even cause us to shut down, to feel and say: “I can’t do this!” Maybe we even begin to doubt ourselves. There’s no fun in that. No wonder procrastination is such a complaint.
However, procrastination can be positive and productive. Part of the concern is that we are taught that thinking occurs only in the brain. We may point to our head to indicate thinking, and we have all sorts of expressions along the lines of what Ellen’s friend in the video recommends that she see a therapist to get her head examined. However, some scholars in cognitive science, (the study of how we think) are moving increasingly in the direction of embodied cognition. This means that we not only think with our mind, we also think with our entire body and the environment around it. Recently, Professor Raymond Gibbs gave a lecture on this and how we often use simulations to help us concentrate to improve our thought process (27 January, 2012).
For example, review what Ellen does when she starts to feel procrastination coming on. She uses what Gibbs refers to as a common metaphor of thinking: a journey. Her noticing the dusty desk sends her on a classic heroic quest to get something to clean off the desk (This in itself could be a metaphor for clearing the dust on her mind). She stops to pet the cat and to consider the room’s paint color and CD arrangement, thereby bringing both the body and the environment into the mix to process her thoughts.
There is something else going on here, too. With embodied cognition, Ellen is also becoming more relaxed. She shares her humorous ideas for sorting CDs by food, for example. As we have all probably experienced, we have difficulty concentrating when stressed. Relaxing to improve our focus and thinking is often recommended. Recently, for instance, Colorado Christian University posted a brief suggestion to students who are also working parents that they take a break from their studies to spend time with their families.
Prioritize
Furthermore, the need to prioritize comes into play with procrastination. Mark Snead writing for Productivity 501 discusses how there may be something more pressing that needs to be done before the task at hand. Perhaps the lack of focus is because we feel we have neglected spending time with our children; therefore, giving in to the need to prioritize can help with procrastination. Kids are obviously a parent’s priority, so going off to play with them for an hour can alleviate stress and help a person focus better on the task that needs to be done a bit later on. The key is not to be side-tracked by activities that are not priorities and to acknowledge what your real priorities are
Note how this also connects to embodied cognition. Often people will express something tactile like “I feel like I should be spending more time with my children instead of doing this.” There is a physical and environmental need expressed that must be addressed before we can pursue the task at hand.
Discover
If we can let go of the task at hand for a bit, possibly taking some time for something that has a higher priority for us, there are discoveries to be made. Consider the incredible details Ellen notices on her procrastination journey: the dust, the cat, colors, the motifs present in band names, and probably the most clever of them all, rather than paying a therapist to listen to her, she could get others to pay to listen to her talk about procrastination. The result is the monologue posted on YouTube.
The idea that taking the time for these mental and physical ruminations is highly valuable goes back at least 2,300 years. The Classical philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, began a whole branch of knowledge known as “invention,” basically the concept that allowing the mind to roam through endless possibilities and options often produces the most compelling result. Giving in to procrastination can lead us on an exciting journey of discovery.
Take Action
Let’s face it. As productive and fun as procrastination can be, we do have to learn to discipline ourselves. When the waitress tells Ellen and her friend that she too struggles with procrastination, Ellen’s response is: “Get my sandwich.” The takeaway here is that we cannot let ourselves stray too long on the path of procrastination. Each of the sources provided in this post express a similar sentiment. It is helpful to walk away from a task if you start to feel the stress of procrastination, but you must set a reasonable limit on this. A bit of time to play with the cat, to enjoy the kids, or to lunch with a friend, and then you must get back to the task at hand.
Overall, procrastination is a natural part of our thought process, so it’s nothing to be cursed and avoided; rather, it’s something to be embraced and nurtured. It may even help to consider it fun!
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