Not to Procrastinate

How do we stop believing the lies we tell ourselves?  An article from the BBC recently compared the modern-day procrastinator with Hamlet.  The conclusion that the author reached was that procrastinators— and Hamlet— are worse off than people who do things in a scheduled and timely way.  In my life, I feel that this statement has been true, especially when it comes to academics. 

            Procrastinating has been an issue that I have had to deal with for my entire life.  The author of the article asks an important question, which she then answers perfectly: “we are perfectionists who do our best work under pressure? Baloney.” I attributed Hamlet’s decision to wait so long to kill Claudius to indecision; never did I think that the Prince was a procrastinator.  However, when the author presented this idea, I immediately felt the situation apply to my own life.  Of course, I have never pondered killing my uncle, but I have felt a gripping force that pulls me towards indecision at times when I know that the action I have to take is inexorable.  Nothing is going to happen if I wait a little while to do my math homework…right?  I have lost count of the times that I said something along those lines, only to look back the next day and reply to the previous thought with something like: what an idiot! At the age of sixteen, I know only the inner teenager that the author was talking about.  So why is it that princes and students and journalists all stumble upon the torment of procrastination?  We all have time to decide.  When I walk into class to find a pop quiz on my desk, I don’t wonder whether or not to actually do it.  Hamlet would’ve killed Claudius in Act I had he known for certain that if he didn’t act then he could never have the chance again.  And the journalist always ends up posting an article, even if it has been bogged down by the mediocrity that is the product of procrastination.

            So, what can be said for certain is that procrastination is inevitable, right?  Wrong.  While we know that procrastination is harmful to the pursuit of excellence, we also know it is definitely something that can be eliminated completely when there is no choice but to act.  The biggest lie we tell ourselves isn’t that we do good work when we’re tired, it’s that we can’t stop procrastinating!  Reader, if, after reading Hamlet, the BBC article and this blog, you still find yourself procrastinating, try this simple solution: always take the easy way out— for a while.  You’ll find that after you are fired, or your victim managed to escape, or you failed an entire course, you won’t even think about putting off work the next time you have a choice.