Indecision Is The Precursor To Procrastination
Indecision is a very common trait for many of us nowadays. How many times have we spent ages debating what food to eat, or what movie to see? I’m certainly guilty of being indecisive with these relatively trivial choices. But what happens when our inability to make effective choices transfers into the more important parts of our lives? We procrastinate.
Procrastination, the action of delaying or postponing something, affects all of us at some point in our lives. But why does procrastination even need to be a thing? We don’t NEED to procrastinate, we don’t NEED to delay something. We do it because in the moment we don’t WANT to do it. Whether or not this is good for us or not, when we are faced with a hard task, or an easy task (work vs TV), more often than not we will choose the easy task.
So why is it that when we choose the easy task we have a sense of unease, of guilt? Or perhaps we even feel anxious or ashamed. It’s because we didn’t actually make the conscious decision not to do the hard task. We simply avoid the reality that we have work to do. This indecision is what causes procrastination.
Avoid Indecision, Choose To Be Lazy
You may know that I dislike being told what I SHOULD be doing, or what I NEED in my life. I much prefer thinking about what I COULD be doing, or what COULD BE USEFUL in my life. This way of thinking has helped me with prioritisation, productivity and avoiding procrastination. In a world where thought leaders and influencers constantly tell what we should be doing with our lives, I’ve chosen to decide for myself.
That’s the key here, choosing. We can battle indecision by simply choosing. When we realise we’re procrastinating, it’s usually because we think we SHOULD be doing something else. We avoid facing the hard task, but avoiding it doesn’t make it go away. What does make it go away is making a conscious decision to simply not do it.
It might sound strange but hear me out. By making a decision to watch tv instead of studying, we release ourselves from the burden of procrastination. We decide that from the things that we COULD be doing, we want to choose the easier option right now. By confirming with ourselves that we genuinely would rather watch TV, we are no longer procrastinating. We are no longer postponing, delaying, or putting off a task because we’ve chosen not to do it at all.
It’s important to view this as a way to avoid the negative feelings associated with procrastination. It is not an excuse to put off important work. You can’t skip a day of work and tell your boss “I just chose to watch tv today”. That’s not how this works. Your responsibilities are still there, and you may still have to attend to them. But if you find yourself experiencing serious negative emotions due to indecision, simply choosing the easier option can remove those feelings.
Enjoy Yourself
No one enjoys procrastinating. No one enjoys indecision. Yet we have the power to avoid this altogether. Often when we’re procrastinating, perhaps we’re playing video games instead of writing an article (personal example), we aren’t enjoying the video games. We struggle to fully enjoy what we’re doing because we have that sense of unease that comes with procrastination.
Why shouldn’t we enjoy ourselves? Surely if we’re going to put off a difficult task for something easier then we might as well enjoy it. What’s the point if we don’t enjoy it. The indecision stops us from doing meaningful work, but it also robs us of the pleasure of the easier option.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t want to do the work, or the chore, or the workout, choose to be okay with that. Choose to do something you enjoy, and enjoy it. It sounds simple I know, but indecision truly is the precursor to procrastination. By making the decision, we completely remove procrastination from the situation.
Try viewing the tasks in your life as things that you COULD do, rather than things you SHOULD do. Also, don’t fall into the trap of letting people tell you what you NEED, rather than what COULD BE USEFUL.
Have a fantastic week.
Connor
