7 Reasons Why Procrastination Can Be Good At Times

This is a guest article contribute by Lale Byquist from PresentationSkills.me.

Once you realize that you have a lack of motivation to work on your duties, you understand that procrastination has come. In fact, over 20% of people face procrastination on a regular basis, and this number of chronic procrastinators is growing annually. The biggest problem is that people are afraid of failure, so they stop working on a task once they realize it may become a breakdown.

Even if you’re determined at all costs to achieve your goal, you may face procrastination from time to time, and there are many reasons why people procrastinate. However, all of us know that it gives you nothing but time-wasting or the loss of motivation and interest in working on the same task.

All in all, the idea that procrastination is bad has been drilled into most people.

But:

Procrastination can also be beneficial sometimes.

Actually, procrastination is a matter of priority. If you procrastinate on doing something, it doesn’t mean you want to get rid of this task and all your job duties.

Look:

There are two types of procrastination – active and passive. If you postpone doing something, and you choose another duty instead, it’s active procrastination. But if you stop working on your task and do nothing instead, it’s passive type, and it gives you nothing but time wasting.

Today we’re going to speak about procrastination and its benefits. No matter who you are, whether a chronic procrastinator or you have faced it the first time, you can understand how not to be to blame for procrastination and make the most out of it.

Want to know if you’re a procrastinator and what type of prorcrastination personality you have? Take this quiz to find out.

So, there are 7 reasons not to be afraid of active procrastination:

1. Procrastination Helps to Prevent You from Burning Out

The work environment is competitive, and it increases the risk of stress and depression. In fact, working day in and day out can give you nothing but a burnout.

To begin with, let’s find out what burnout is.

Burnout is an exhaustion which can be described as an emotional and mental contrition.

If you can’t understand whether you have burnout or not, pay attention to the list of its symptoms:

• a lack of motivation
• you feel tired
• no creativity
• reduced work performance

If you have a big number of tasks to do, shifting from one to another, you have a lack of energy and motivation to accomplish these duties on a good level. This is where procrastination can help.

Here comes a good way of procrastinating:

Taking a pause when needed is a way to distract from the work and, therefore, improve working performance.

People who can shift work and entertainment tend to be less stressed, and they avoid burning out with ease.

2. You Can Improve Creativity

Most people would agree that multitasking is a normal thing for humans. However, it’s hard for our brains to handle two or more tasks at the same time… Here comes procrastination.

But:

Procrastination can boost your creativity, according to studies.

Although putting things off seems to be a bad habit, some people can make the most out of it. The most creative decisions come when your brain isn’t functioning as efficiently as usual. When you’re tired or postpone some things, your brain starts using exhausted resources, and ‘unfiltered’ ideas come to your mind.

When you take a pause, you distract from the work process, and it helps to restart the brain functions. Stepping back for a while can show things from a different angle, and you can find creative solutions instead of the most obvious ones.

3. Value Your Time and Efforts

Believe it or not, procrastinating helps to value your time and efforts. It’s a well-known fact that people who can allocate time can achieve success with ease, and procrastination helps to realize the exact amount of time and effort you spend.

When you postpone doing things, you understand how much time have you spent on accomplishing these duties and, therefore, start thinking about the value of your time.

How many things could you do during this period? Did you spend this time efficiently?

If you have procrastinated at least once, you realize how bad it’s for your productivity, so you value time and efforts you spend while working normally. It’s a good way to become more productive at work and identify whether you’re procrastinating next time.

After all, knowing the value of YOUR time and efforts is a key to wise time management.

4. Complete The Task on a Better Level

The truth is simple: you can improve the quality of the task by not acting in rush.

All people start multitasking from time to time, and it decreases the quality of your work as you give less attention to each task. Moreover, once you realize you can’t complete the task on a proper level, it makes you feel sad and unmotivated to improve the quality of it.

Working on the same task without breaks, you have nothing to draw inspiration from. Thus, procrastinate for a while is a good choice if you want to finish your task on a better level. The quality of a given task is improving when you give it time, and it’s not a secret that delayed work doesn’t get the same level of quality.

Refresh your thoughts and come back to the task, once you’re in the mood for it. Plus, you will have extra time to make up more creative and unusual ideas, see more alternative ways to finish the task.

Giving something a time is a good way to enhance quality, and it’s absolutely important for people who want to achieve business success.

5. Give You Time to Getting Feedback

Sometimes we’re pressed for time at work, and we can’t stop working on a particular task. However, it can be the sacrifice of quality as you don’t have time to get feedback from colleagues.

The truth is that feedback helps you learn a lot and, therefore, grow professionally. If you can receive productive feedback, you can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Plus, waiting for feedback, you give yourself time to think about your work and find out what have you done well.

It’s not a secret that it costs a lot to analyze the quality of your work as it’s hard to stay objective when it comes to reading your work. Thus, getting a constructive feedback is a must, and while procrastinating, your colleagues have time to suggest some changes and improvements. It means increasing the quality of the work.

6. It Helps to Get More Things Done

If you know how to use your procrastination the right way, you won’t spend time on chronophages (time eaters that give you nothing but a lack of time). You can distract from the task you’re not in the mood for, and focus on completing other things that are still important.

For instance, being a freelancer, you can do housekeeping tasks to spend your time procrastinating well. Plus, you can move back to the unfinished task you’ve left previously. Thus, postponing tasks can be a way to complete already-existed duties.

The main idea is to make your procrastination active which means using free time to accomplish other duties. What is more, when you work on absolutely another idea, you might be surprised at the creativity boost you get as you distract from a difficult task, give yourself time, and get more things done in a good way.

7. You Feel Better and Happier

All people need a break sometimes. It’s important to have some time to breathe a sign of relief, get rid of pressure, and dedicate some time to your thoughts and life.

That is how procrastination may help you feel better and happier.

Although you don’t have to procrastinate on every task you have, there is nothing bad if it comes from time to time. Don’t be to blame for it, simply give yourself time.

Obviously, if you don’t waste this time but use it wise to accomplish other things, you will be astonished at your productivity. It’s still possible to stay productive while postponing doing other important tasks. In addition, it’s a way to relax and boost inspiration.

Once you’re well-rested, you have more desire to complete the task. The good idea of procrastination is that it makes you feel better and happier as you don’t put pressure on yourself.

Final Thoughts

Don’t try to buckle yourself down once procrastination strikes you. If you know how to give yourself time to rest well without worries, you can get ready to keep on working, and what is more, you can improve the quality of your work as a minimum.

The main lesson to learn is to demark active and passive procrastination to make the most out of it. If you know how to use procrastination the right way, you can accomplish more tasks on a better level and become a happier person.

One thing I’ve learned over the years of being a student and working is that all people procrastinate from time to time, and just a few of us can make benefits of it.

Do you know other benefits of procrastination?

About the Author:
Lale Byquist is a media communications specialist who runs PresentationSkills.me website to share her tips on overcoming a fear of public speaking. She is interested in personal growth, so Lale reads a lot and writes advice.