Is the habit of postponing action a bane or a boon, wonders V N MITTAL who takes a look at the pros and cons of procrastination
Plagued by task aversion and the fear of failure in reaching their goals, most have a tendency to postpone decision making and often start things too late to honour deadlines — like students who put off preparing for examinations and then end up cramming at the last moment. Modern technology makes it easier for us to procrastinate, with all the comforts it offers us.Yet, there is another category of people who are always in a hurry to accomplish the task before deadlines. They are so obsessed with the idea of quick delivery that it makes them forget important details and they repent afterwards when they discover their blunders. In their case, haste makes waste, it seems!
A Big Curse?
Procrastination is considered a big curse and a vice that inhibits productivity in all spheres of activity. It can not only rob you of your valuable time and opportunities, but can also be disastrous. In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna warns against procrastination — he calls it Dirgha-sutri (18:28) meaning long rope. Postponement of everything is the quality of lazy people. According to Tamil wisdom, procrastination, forgetfulness, idleness and sleep are the four illfated boats sailing towards ruin. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma says,‘These two, namely, one who provides for the future, and one possessed of presence of mind always enjoy happiness. The procrastinator, however, is lost and meets with destruction.’ Overcoming the habit of postponing action is a herculean task. You need to have strong will power to get started and accomplish the task. “If you put off everything till you are sure of it,you will never get anything done”,says Norman Vincent Peale.In business ventures, it pays to prioritise your activities, delegate, build teams and institute measures.The story of an ant returning with only one grain of sugar taken from a heap of sugar reminds us that we should tackle one thing at a time. The human mind has a capacity to store a large number of ideas but if one thing is tackled at a time, the habit of procrastination will diminish. According to Professor Adam Grant of the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania,procrastination may be a vice for productivity, but it is a virtue for creativity. Experiments have shown that procrastinators have much higher creativity scores than people who buckle down to a task right away to complete it as soon as possible.We seem to have better memory for incomplete tasks than for complete ones. When we finish a project,we file it away. But when it is in limbo, it stays active in minds.Procrastinators encourage divergent thinking. When you postpone doing something, you are more likely to let your mind wander and that gives you a better chance of generating and exploring more novel ideas that are bound to enhance your creativity. The right kind of procrastination might make you more creative.But urgent matters need to be attended to as soon as possible.
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