Is procrastination as evil as it’s made to be? I think not.
Procrastination has become my ally to improve my everyday productivity. For example, I stumble upon several interesting articles, videos, or social media posts every day while I am online.
Most of these content are tangentially related to what I am working or researching on, and I am tempted to devour them right then and there.
But I resist because I have a list of priorities to tackle. Instead, I bookmark these content for later consumption. This kind of sensible procrastination has now become my default behavior.
I procrastinate watching my favorite Netflix series when my kid wants me to play with her in the park. I delay replying angrily to an email for at least a few hours after I read about this technique a few years back.
And just when I am about to make yet another impulsive purchase on Amazon, my self-control projects itself as a mental picture of Arya Stark in my mind and tells me — not today.
When you treat procrastination as a form of delayed gratification, it builds self-discipline. It becomes an antidote to instant gratification, which I think is a bigger beast to battle.
When you piece procrastination together with prioritization, you win.
Procrastination is an under-rated time management technique.