The Process of Procrastination

We have talked of the tension of pretending⎯of insincerity, of pretending to be what we aren’t, of pretending to be doing what we aren’t doing. There is yet another side of this subject that always appears to be somewhat seasonable: Postponement is often a kind of pretense⎯or at least procrastination is⎯procrastination in the sense that a person pretends that something he ought to be doing now is going to be easier later, and so justifies himself in leaving it until later.

This often applies to work, to assignments we accept, to paying obligations, to studying, and to many other matters.

The fact is that most of us at times go through more or less meaningless motions before settling down to serious assignments or to serious thinking. (Not only is insincerity one of the most exhausting things in life, but thinking is also⎯and many of us choose first to do the treadmill routine tasks rather than settle down to serious thinking.)

Sometimes we accept assignments that ought to be done by a definite date. And then postpone and tell ourselves that we will soon begin, that we will soon settle down. But the process of procrastination often goes on and on, and the damaging part is not only that the work isn’t getting done, but also that we ourselves constantly have it hanging over our heads and can’t forget it and can’t feel free. And so we worry, and worrying about something that should be done and that isn’t getting done, often wears us away more than working at it would.

Often at the start of school, a student will postpone settling down to serious study. The course is just beginning, and there are so many side attractions, and he doesn’t feel at first that he would really be much behind if he fails to prepare just the first day’s assignment⎯or the second⎯and so on. And so he procrastinates reading; he procrastinates the doing of particular problems, and succumbs to the false philosophy that he had just as well loaf along now, and cram a little later.

Such is the pretense of procrastination⎯of too easily setting work aside; of too easily setting obligations aside; of sitting in classes and pretending to be prepared, and bluffing and fumbling and offering inept explanations to ourselves and to others also. And so we often wear ourselves more with worry rather than with actual work.

No matter how easy or how hard an assignment seems, it will always wear and worry us more until we’ve made a beginning. The first honest step is always essential to the process of completion.