Productive Procrastination FTW

Procrastination is not a bad thing. It’s a natural tendency that you can take advantage of. Don’t waste it.

When I put off the things I have to do, I still do stuff that pushes me forward (usually learning or creating). This morning I realized why that is. I’m not special. I happened into a fairly simple system that sets the stage for routinely productive procrastination.

If you don’t want to eat shitty food, don’t have shitty food sitting around. Urges will strike, and you won’t always have the willpower to fight them. (You may want to save that willpower for more important things, anyways.) But not doing something bad is a double negative. Even better than not surrounding yourself with shitty food: surround yourself with good snacks that keep you healthy and energized when you reach for them.

I don’t diet, per se. I follow processes (like keeping good food around) that are simple and sustainable. It keeps me happy and in pretty good shape. And it helps keep my life simple.

Productive Procrastination

This morning I realized that I follow a similar pattern when it comes to my creative/productive output. I surround myself with good things to do. To some outsiders this looks like a lot of ‘unfinished projects’. So be it. I’m improving and expanding my skills and knowledge.

I’d bet that when a lot of folks procrastinate, they feel bad/guilty. And rightfully so. The solution is not fighting procrastination! It’s a waste of energy to fight the tides. Let them take you places.

Start reading a book, researching a new topic, learning to code, appreciating art, improving your handwriting, riding a unicycle, laughing louder, tuning a guitar, engineering better (paper) airplanes, sketching innovating products, writing a business plan, 3D printing, daydreaming about a different world, whatever. You don’t need a goal and you don’t need to be good. Have interesting things just lying around, waiting. Don’t worry if you pick them up again. Let them sit.

In a few weeks, or months, do some reflection. Did you do anything different when you procrastinated? Did any of these new interesting things collect less dust than you expected? If you read a little less gossip and wrote half a blog post, you succeeded. Maybe one of those interesting idle things will turn into something big. Maybe not. Either way, it’s good. Keep going.

This has been a product of my productive procrastination process.