On Procrastination

No question about it–I’m a big procrastinator when it comes to things that take time away from what I really want to do.

On a positive note, it means that I’m very good at staying focused on a goal and accomplishing it.

The downside is that my singular focus is detrimental to the many other things that are clamoring for my attention and eventually become a big problem when I don’t get them done.

It can be stressful to let these unwanted tasks build up, but for better or for worse, this is what I often choose to do in order to accomplish my real goals in life.

(And by the way, I don’t recommend that you live this way. You may be much happier keeping your task backlog clear, and if you can actually do this, you have my admiration! You are not a procrastinator!)

I simply feel that if I take the time to do all of these things, my whole life will turn into nothing but “treading water”–spending all my time trying to stay afloat in life without actually accomplishing anything that really matters to me.

Eventually, though, the consequences of the backlog I’m ignoring get too serious and I simply have to take the time to get them done.

At this point, I usually set aside half a day or more for getting all those nagging things done.

This is where Sooner Or Later has really made a difference for me!

Whereas in the past I would struggle to remember what onerous tasks I had been postponing, now they’re all neatly packed into my “Later” list!

I can simply go through my Later list, move the critical items to Soon, and bring those items into focus one at a time so I never lose track of what I’m getting done. (I also enjoy checking lots of things off and hearing that little “click” each time!)

So, now when I have one of those productive days, I can be super productive!

I had one of these days recently, and I felt so efficient that I just wanted to tell you all about it! 🙂

Of course, the key to all of this is that I do always take a few seconds to enter in new tasks as they arrive, even if I just push them to Later.

I do this very consistently, even as a procrastinator, because I know the payoff will be big down the road.

This way, I don’t forget things anymore, and I consciously no longer make that excuse for myself.

I choose to postpone things to Later and I choose to Never do other things. Sometimes, I even choose to stop looking at my Later list (bad!).

But, the key is that with Sooner Or Later, I’m in control.

I don’t feel like I’m flailing around in life because I’m always forgetting things that need to be done anymore.

Now I’m making informed choices about how I spend my time.

And it feels good.

–David