Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Procrastination may not always be a bad thing


The Wall Street Journal appears to think so, anyway.

You may ask: Why should I want to know how to be a better procrastinator? Being a procrastinator isn't as bad as being, say, a serial killer. But isn't it on the same level as being a shirker, a lazy slug, a worthless idler? Procrastinators are unproductive. No one should want to know how to be more unproductive, right?

But are procrastinators truly unproductive? In most cases, the exact opposite is true. They are people who not only get a lot done but have a reputation for getting a lot done. They don't have neat desks or even neat desktops on their laptops. They spend a lot of time playing catch-up. But they are likely to be creative and on the whole amiable. After all, if you tend to keep people waiting, it makes them crabby; it doesn't pay to make things worse by being crabby yourself.

There's more at the link.

The article goes on to suggest several ways in which procrastinators can improve their work habits and become more effective.  Being somewhat of a procrastinator myself, I found it useful reading.  Perhaps some of my readers might also appreciate help with that?

Peter

3 comments:

Jim March said...

I'd procrastinate but I never get around to it.

Wayne Conrad said...

I'll have to read that later.

DanG said...

Finally!! A professor who actually knows what he is talking about. He painted a perfect picture of me with his words. I'm willing to bet, though, that this gem of wisdom came from his own personal experience, rather than from his education.