I am a big procrastinator. I hate to admit that, but it’s the truth. I often start working on something and then seemingly put it aside of days, weeks, or months while I procrastinate getting it done. But what exactly does that procrastination mean? Am I self-sabotaging? Does it lack importance to me? Or am I simply allowing ideas to marinate in my mind for a while before knowing how to take it forward.
I have procrastinated writing the second part of this very short article. I wanted to write, and then, all of a sudden, I put it off.
I imagine Dr. Seuss singing to me, “Oh the places you’ll go…if only you stop procrastinating!” I get it, I hear it. There are people who wake up in the morning and they just tackle their to do list like it’s nobody’s business and make the big bucks.
Then there are people like me, who have finally accepted that procrastination is a part of the creative process and though it may feel agonizing like I am not actually accomplishing what I hoped to. Quicker.
What I've come to learn, is that while it may seem like nothing is getting done I am actually allowing time for ideas to continue to stir in my mind. They shapeshift, they swirl, they reinvent themselves and then finally, a day comes when I realize I have the perfect formula. And I sit down, and two months of procrastination pours out of me at whatever hour of the day I happen to find myself in – and that, my friends, is where the magic happens. What a beautiful mind I have when allowed to work at its own rhythm and pace.
So the question is not why do I procrastinate, the question, really, is when will I learn to accept my own process without judgement. Without sensing that there is a right amount of time for something to be created. And start embracing the moments of uncertainty between productivity, where I know creativity is taking hold. It's time to accept this as a part of my process and let the magical procrastination powers take hold, allowing my divine creativity to shine through.
I will procrastinate on that thought for a while and see where it leads me.