You are procrastinating all wrong
It can be OK to let your mind wonder
Procrastination gets a bad rep and, most of the time, for good reason.
It distracts you from your current task, making it take much longer, and it takes you a while to get back on track. Flitting between tasks, even if one is doom scrolling nonsense, is exhausting, and if you have a creative job that energy which could be used towards creativity is sapped and wasted.
Creating poor work because your energy has been distracted and drained from useless distractions can create frustration, agitation, and anxiety over that lost potential of creativity and sub-par work performance.
However, if I can keep the phone and the emails at bay, my procrastination starts to wander towards questions which can either inspire creativity or at least generate motivation and rethinking towards my current tasks and goals.
I have a habit of finding a topic and then suddenly wanting to learn everything about it.
This can be a whole topic, such as (in my case) a whole new sport and culture. I’ve been down the rabbit hole learning about sumo wrestling and I’ve never really got out.
Or it can be a specific question. For example, this post has been inspired by wanting to know which is the best Radiohead album.
So why would these two examples be good examples of procrastination? Am I making excuses for myself?
Learning about sumo wrestling opened my eyes towards the importance of skill and the illusion of body shape on physical performance. It is so much more than two heavy guys pushing into each other. The technical skill to manipulate body position and momentum in sumo is impressive and so crucial for success. The Yokozuna are a class above. Learning this has reshaped my opinion and approach to the importance of S&C and skill development.
Wanting to know the best Radiohead album provided me an opportunity to reflect on their creative process and the risks they took to change their sound drastically over their discography. Music is about portraying ideas and emotion and there are many ways to achieve that. I then look at my own work and want to reframe it with fresh eyes and a new approach. Even looking at all their album art creates a similar reflective response in me.
My message from this is to not always beat yourself up when you find yourself procrastinating. Sure, most procrastination is robbing you of what you want to achieve. However, we can create systems and habits to remove such distractions. When you do, it can be ok for your mind to wonder. Your creativity might get the spark it needs.
Keep embracing creativity
Dr Phil Price
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