Productive Procrastination?

Caleb Frith — Unsplash

Procrastination has gotten a bad rap. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the badness of it, and to browbeat ourselves over it. I get it. I’m an experienced perpetrator, judge, and jury when it comes to procrastination. It’s been on my mind again, and I was reminded of these musings, so I pulled them out to share.

I’ve been working on the rewrite of a novel. And, for a while, it was simply pouring out of me.

Until it wasn’t. It’s like the river of ideas just stopped flowing. I fell into what many would call the abyss of procrastination, which kind of fascinated me, to be honest. I’d start by beating myself up, then by pepping myself up, and then just giving up. It was a cycle that went on for days. Weeks. Months.

Then I realized something. I was talking about the story constantly, fleshing out ideas for structure, discussing throughlines, themes, and the undercurrent in certain scenes, and clarifying the timeline. The fact is, I’m thinking about this book all the time, like a hundred times a day. Also, I’m in an incredible group, connected with other writers and storytellers in constructive discussions about craft.

That’s when it hit me. This is my process, not my procrastination. And, not just about writing. This is the way process shows up in every area of my life.

So, when is procrastination not procrastination? When it’s part of Process.

The truth is, I noodle. And, I noodle, and then I noodle some more. Then, the pieces start to fit into place, like a mystery puzzle when you don’t exactly know what it’s going to look like when it's completed. At that point, often the project really cranks, like it has a mind of its own, until it’s a little jewel of creation.

It becomes the result, or product, of what I now call — get ready for it —

Productive Procrastination

Ah, there’s a reframe! Not an excuse, but a practical application I can work with.

I think this new recognition of procrastination deserves some love here. Productive procrastinating can actually be very helpful.

I went down the rabbit hole.

One of my all-time favorite TED Talks, “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator,” is Tim Urban's talk about what happens when we procrastinate and how the “instant gratification monkey” takes the wheel, involving us in everything except what we want to get done. Fellow procrastinators, this is a must-see. It’s hilarious, and you may see yourself in what he describes.

I say, the monkey mind can be a great friend to creative, productive procrastination.

In “The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers,” psychologist Adam Grant concluded that some of the most original and creative thinkers procrastinate; they incubate. “Procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in non-linear ways, to make unexpected leaps.” He says, “Procrastination can be a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity.” As a result of this process, “some of the most creative people are fast to start and slow to finish.” Indeed!

The creative process is not rational, “the true essence of creativity is unexpectedness.”

That really takes some pressure off. Some of the most brilliant people I know are 11th-hour geniuses. No matter how much time they have, they continually pull off brilliance at the last minute.

Author Manoush Zomorodi says that when you engage in mundane tasks, you enter default mode. “Your body goes on autopilot, and your brain gets busy forming new neural connections that connect ideas and solve problems.” You can probably recall times when THE idea or solution or word or thing came to you while you were doing something mundane, or by rote, like washing the dishes or taking a shower. Your body is on autopilot so your mind can wander.

How to embrace your productive procrastinator?

Get bored. Do nothing. Stare at the wall. Be still and just think. That’s it. Just noodle. Don’t take notes, don’t try and catch a thought. Just allow your mind to travel. Set a timer if you want to. Know that you’ll remember what you’re supposed to remember.

“You call it procrastinating, I call it thinking.” Aaron Sorkin

Engage in some mundane, autopilot tasks: laundry, dishes, mow the lawn, any by-rote physical task. Observe what aha thoughts present themselves.

Allow your imagination to take flight. Have a notebook handy. This time take notes. No editing. No judging. Just free associate, mind to paper.

Be in nature. Being around such alive energy, it’s definitely where I do some of my best noodling.

Idea-storm, word-storm, and brainstorm with others. This is a fun way to productively procrastinate. All the better if it’s over cocktails.

Keep trying new ideas and fresh ways to look at things. Get a little crazy here. Sometimes it’ll take several passes before it’s the winner. Know that “bad” ideas are often simply pre-great ideas.

Remember: Reflection is the Productive Procrastinator’s secret weapon. It’s how ideas germinate and generate.

Then, put your project on your dance card. Make an appointment with yourself to get back to work on moving your project forward.

And, relax. There will be plenty of time to procrastinate again!