Procrastination As An Artform

Okay, so the title of this post, "Procrastination As An Artform", may be a little over the top. But if you're reading it ... ahem ... chances are YOU too are procrastinating. Congratulations! High-five! Wanna chocolate?

Years ago, back when I was studying for some boring post-grad thing (public law, ugh), I had to delete Tetris from my computer. It's the only computer game where self-discipline wasn't enough to save me. If I was at that computer, I played Tetris. So I was interested to read that Tetris is now used to treat PTSD. It's an excellent example of how an activity that we think is pure procrastination may actually be having an important and beneficial effect on us.

These days I procrastinate with Facebook. Twitter is vanishing from my life. I seem to have hit peak social media engagement and am now ever so slowly withdrawing from it. I'll maintain a presence - I love chatting about books with people - but on the whole it chews up too much time and emotional energy.

A few months back I cut out one of my biggest procrastination aids by radically pruning the number of blogs I follow and eliminating almost all newsletter subscriptions. That freed up an immense number of brain cells. Instead of tracking intriguing news items, I focused on my writing - you know, that thing that's meant to pay the bills!

A good choice of procrastination activity is one that adds to your well being. If at the end of it you're not calmer, happier or healthier, then question whether you're avoiding something. Or is that just me? It's definitely okay to focus on something that's not on your to-do list. To-do lists are not all-powerful! Although, yes, mine would rule my life if I let it.

At its best, procrastination is about enjoying something your subconscious mind hasn't yet been able to convince your conscious mind that you need. Happy procrastinating!