Junior School Head, Mr. Rands, took some time to stop and think about procrastination. Here are his thoughts on that most urgent of topics.
On Saturday afternoon, I picked up the phone to chat to my 22-year old nephew in Canada. Currently in the last few months of his degree and with his final examinations only eight weeks away, he spent most of our conversation sharing all the things he was doing other than revision: writing a business plan for a new packaging product he was prototyping, perfecting his drop-kick technique and assessing which films would qualify for a perfect trio of World War II movies (the conclusions of which I may share another time).
Amidst all this activity, there was little mention of revision – perhaps a familiar scenario to many of us as parents and from our own personal experiences of studying for exams? – yet I decided to resist the urge to ask how much preparation was taking place and avoided suggesting he might, in fact, be procrastinating.
Along with a healthy respect for his ability (and need) to manage his own time effectively, another reason I hesitated to suggest he might be postponing his revision efforts is due to a shift in my own view about procrastination. For a long time, I felt that procrastination – delaying activity or decision-making – was a wholly negative action. I was raised with the maxim that “procrastination is the thief of time.” Yet, as I have grown older, my perspective has shifted to believe that procrastination should viewed in a more positive light. This has been borne out through my own experiences along with a more enlightened and interesting perspective from Professor Frank Partnoy in his book “Wait: The Art and Science of Delay” which explores the research behind effective decision-making.
I now consider procrastination to broadly take two forms. The first, active procrastination, is consciously and deliberately delaying an action or decision since you believe there is inherent value to be achieved from doing this. The second and more problematic, passive procrastination, is not engaging with or even acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead or avoiding decisions that need to be made.
I believe that managing delay through active procrastination is an important tool for us all to learn, alongside prioritisation and other important organisational attributes. When you start to consider it further and explore the timing of decisions, active procrastination may improve our productivity.
For example, working on something when we feel the time is right – rather than just because we have the time – and our energy levels are good, ensures that we remain conscious of the quality of time we spend on something rather than the quantity. Sleeping on important decisions allows us to subconsciously process thoughts and observations, truly considering the ramifications of that decision, rather than prematurely jumping to uninformed conclusions. Moreover, tasks that feel initially urgent can often appear less relevant and even unnecessary after a period of reflection and instead enable you to identify what truly matters in terms of your to-do list.
Active procrastination may even lead to better understanding when we make mistakes that impact on others. Providing time to allow emotions to settle often enables us to see a situation more objectively and communicate our regret and learning more effectively. It also gives the other party time to reflect on how this has impacted them so that they can communicate this to you in a calm manner.
Whether we like it or not, we will almost always have more things to do than we can possibly achieve in the time available. Consequently, we will often be imposing some sort of unwarranted delay on some tasks. Therefore, in conclusion, the important question is not whether we are procrastinating, it is whether we are procrastinating well.
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