“I have … come to believe that the true definition of ‘procrastination’ is ‘assuming I will be less stupid and lazy tomorrow than I am today.’” –Tim Grahl1
Or, to put it less crassly, procrastination is assuming something will be easier tomorrow than it is today – a belief which is, of course, wrong.
There’s usually no reason to think that the work you don’t want to do today will be easier tomorrow. That’s just wishful thinking. It’s not like you’re going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly find cleaning your house or doing your taxes exciting. And you’ll probably be just as busy, tired, and unmotivated tomorrow as you are today.
Only rarely do the circumstances of tomorrow make doing the work easier than it would be today. For example, if you need to get some writing done, and there are noisy guests in your home today, but the house will be empty tomorrow, it will probably be easier tomorrow. The key here is to separate changing circumstances – which can actually happen – from changes in yourself – which will almost certainly not happen in the short run. And don’t forget to ask yourself, “Am I letting my bias toward convenience be an excuse to put this off?”
Tomorrow – and every day after that – the cost of doing the work will remain the same: time and energy you don’t want to put in. But, by having to justify putting it off, you are paying an extra cost: the thinking cost of procrastination. And the longer you wait to do the work, the more of this you’ll have to pay. So do your future selves a favor and just get it done – whatever it is.
New Year’s resolutions are based on a similar delusion: that we’ll magically be more motivated just because we crossed an arbitrary date on the calendar. Starting a good habit or quitting a bad habit won’t be any easier next year. If anything, it will be harder because you’ll be that much more set in your ways. So if you really want to change, don’t wait until next year. Don’t even wait until tomorrow. Start today. You won’t regret it.
1 Grahl, Tim. Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map To Winning Creative Battles. Black Irish Entertainment, 2018.
P.S. Click here for an in-depth look at how you can beat procrastination by making your own motivation.