Procrastinators are often hard on themselves but most of the time they are not putting off a task out of laziness. It’s often due to a myriad of far more complex reasons.
A survey by Legal & General found that more than half the UK (52%) believe that procrastination has affected their lives. The pandemic has of course had a big impact – with 30% saying it has made them less motivated to tackle their ‘to do’ list.
More than a third of procrastinators said that the ‘time wasting’ has had an impact on their studies – while others said it had meant not pursuing a dream, the breakdown of friendships as well as affecting their romantic lives.
If you have berated yourself for leaving a task until the last minute, then you may be interested to hear that procrastination isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. In fact, it can fuel creativity.
During a Ted Talk, psychologist Adam Grant said that as long as you plan to come back to the work, “procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.”
Have you ever found that an idea comes to you when you aren’t trying to think about it? Sit in front of the screen for hours on end, desperately trying to think up an idea and you’ll no doubt find you struggle and become stressed. Step away from it and the answer will come to you when you least expect it – this might be in the shower, out for a walk or while doing the dishes.
Even the world greatest minds – such as Mozart – have said that their best work has come to them during periods of procrastination.
This is because while you are concentrating on another, potentially mundane task, your subconscious is still working away in the background. This is known as the incubation period – when we leave a task, our brain continues to look for solutions which is why without even realising it, we can suddenly come to the answer we had been struggling to find previously. An easy but engaging task provides a moderate distraction and helps us come back with a new perspective.
Research by Stanford University found that creativity is boosted by 60% while walking. The ever-innovative Apple has created its new headquarters, Apple Park around this idea – offering plenty of space for its employees to take walking meetings – something its founder Steve Jobs was a firm believer of.
However, in his Ted Talk, Grant does make the point that you don’t want to procrastinate too long – if you leave it until right before the deadline, you will be stressed which makes it hard to be creative. Instead, allow yourself time to go away and think about it while still giving yourself enough time to get the work done, so you aren’t rushing it at the last minute.
Those tasks that we are doing to avoid the one we know we should be doing aren’t a waste of time at all. In fact, they are helping us to do a much better job when we finally come to it.
So, stop doing that stressful task – even it’s just to watch a funny video on YouTube. Give your brain a moment to think without you forcing it and you might just find you come to a much more creative solution than you would have done if you’d tried to just push on through.