What procrastination can teach us

Get curious about procrastination — and achieve breakthroughs.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
This is the fifth episode in my five part series
about procrastination. Today's tip is to get curious about procrastination.
You can make big breakthroughs in life if you figure

(00:25):
out what procrastination might be teaching you. We tend to
think of procrastination as a bad thing, and generally it is.
As we've discussed this week, the definition of procrastination is
to delay, even knowing that you'll be worse off for
the delay. It's no problem to put off work that
doesn't need to be done in the first place. But
studying for an exam that's critical for whether you'll get

(00:47):
into grad school, that's a different matter. We've discussed why
we procrastinate, and we've discussed strategies for making progress. But
today I want to raise a different possibility, which is
that some times our procrastination is teaching us something. We
can reach real insights by getting curious about why we're
putting something off. Sometimes we delay because things are boring

(01:12):
or unpleasant. Sometimes we delay because we're feeling bad about ourselves.
We don't want to try our best and risk still failing.
But sometimes we delay because we know deep down that
a particular project is not the right direction for our
careers or our lives. The reason you are resisting is

(01:33):
not that you have no self discipline. It's that your
wise inner mentor is saying, no, this is not what
you are meant to be doing. There are other things
that are more worthy of your precious time. Now, I'll
admit that it's not always easy to tell the difference

(01:53):
between mere delay and an epiphany. I've put off writing
scripts for this show because I got sucked into something else.
But I truly love doing this podcast. Usually I just
need a break and a snack and I'm good to go,
But sometimes it's something else. About a year or so ago,
I was asked to take on a project, and I
tentatively agreed set about doing some work for it. Then

(02:16):
I kept finding other things to do. I returned to
emails promptly. I cleaned my desk, and if you know me,
you know that cleaning my desk is usually the last
thing on my priority list. Around the time I found
myself daydreaming about how I might pay someone else to
take on this project. I realized No, it wasn't a

(02:38):
prison sentence. I could extricate myself. Of course, I couldn't
extricate myself immediately. I still had to do the part
that I'd agreed to do. Likewise, if you realize something
isn't the right direction for your life, that doesn't mean
you can get out of doing it, but you can
ask yourself how you can make sure that in a
reasonable amount of time, say the next few weeks or months,

(03:01):
you can make sure you're no longer doing it. Sometimes
that question can actually be the nudge you need to
stop procrastinating. You realize that all that is standing between
you and a future where you aren't doing these types
of projects is getting your immediate deliverables done. Then you
can volunteer for different things, or ask to be reassigned,

(03:24):
or whatever it takes. What have you learned by getting
curious about why you're procrastinating? Have you ever realized after
putting something off that there was a really good reason
you weren't doing it? If so, please let me know.
You can email me at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart
media dot com, and if you have feedback on this

(03:46):
five part series on procrastination, you can let me know
that too. If people are interested, I might do more
series in the future. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

(04:08):
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the number four, then
Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

(04:31):
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.