Why do we procrastinate, it just doesn’t make sense; we put things off when we know that getting on with them is the right thing to do. Some of the classics:
“I Don’t Really Need To Do It Right Now …”
The grand daddy of all procrastination excuses. So seductive, because there is a little truth to it. We don’t have to do it, although we may suffer a bit down the road. That’s just a risk we take…right? When we make this excuse, what we’re really saying is – “I don’t want to do this, and I’m secretly hoping that it’ll either go away, or I’ll eventually feel motivated to actually do it.” Many of us use this excuse knowing full well we’re procrastinating – waiting for that excitement and adrenaline rush that’ll push us through that all-nighter, and “successfully” finish on time. Other common phrasings include “There’s plenty of time” and “I can always do it tomorrow.”
“I’ll Start After …”
Sound familiar? I know I’ve been there. Some of my favorite examples of this excuse include “I’ll start…” –
… right after I do the dishes
… right after I clean my desk
… right after I make one last phone call
This is procrastination, plain and simple – we don’t want to do the difficult tasks that we really should be doing, and we put things off by making excuses and doing “just on more thing.” Surprise, surprise – for me, that “one more thing” often ends up being one of my procrastination thumbscrews.
“It’s Not The Right Time”
You know, sometimes it really isn’t the right time. If you want to take up cross country skiing and it’s the middle of summer, maybe you can wait until winter comes around. More often than not though, it’s just an excuse because it’ll never be the right time. Saying the time isn’t right is just an excuse we use to rationalize why we aren’t starting on our goals and dreams. We blame the situation – even though if we were motivated enough, we could make it the right time – right now.
“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.” – Ivan Turgenev
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