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I set aside feeling guilty about putting things off

by Barbara J. McKee

December 30, 2003

Procrastination. This word conjures up a variety of emotions this time of year. In a day or so, thousands of people will be making their  resolutions for next year, and look back on the ones they made this year. The success of such resolutions relies on procrastination. 

I’ve been putting alot of things off the last couple of years. Things that seemed important were forgotten, such as losing 10 pounds, exercising three times a week, and eating less chocolate. I didn’t lose 10 pounds, I never exercise, and I still eat chocolate nearly everyday. I don’t feel one once of guilt either. 

I think procrastination has gotten a bad rap all these years. Putting off things you can do today until tomorrow isn’t a bad thing in my book. Maybe I’m just pacing myself, making sure I don’t take on too much, giving my life a chance to catch its breath. 

Too many of us are running through our lives. Everyday we try to outdo the day before, looking for ways to pile up our list of accomplishments, check off another goal while adding two or three more to the list. It’s a vicious cycle of turning the human mind into a machine that must have a purpose. Just being human isn’t enough anymore. 

I’ve heard many people say they “suffer” from procrastination. But is it procrastination or just plan guilt? I think it’s the latter. People expect results, productivity, adding something to the world to make it a better place. But the problem lies in the accomplishment, goal or good deed that is expected. Is it something that will improve your life as a human being or something a magazine or therapist said would make you a better person? 

There are too many Dr. Phils out there ready to take your life, tear it down, and tell you what you are doing wrong. But who says they should? In the old days, meaning life before the self-help book revolution, people would know what they needed to change about themselves by how miserable they felt. Families and friends would provide an added insight, and it was left up to you to either agree or disagree—and it didn’t cost you a penny. What happened to this tried and true method of self-improvement? 

Humans don’t trust themselves anymore. They don’t feel they are smart enough to know when they feel bad. They don’t trust their families or friends unless they are a “professional”. This mistrust has caused the daily events in life to be transformed into gigantic problems that require pills, books and recovery centers. But has all this hoopla really changed anyone for the better--permanently? 

Which brings me back to the benefits of procrastination. I heard a line years ago that has become my motto when I’m stuck in that trance of “I feel bad; I should do something”. It very simple: When in doubt, wait it out. Take a breath. Don’t be in such a hurry to fix whatever ails you this very minute. 

Sometimes the answers you seek are waiting for you to shut up, sit still, and rest. Stop running. The consequences of human trial and error are the best teachers in life. There isn’t a book, pill, or doctor that can replace the benefits of procrastination. Maybe we should let life run its course for a while and see if the enormous problem really is enormous. 

Take a good look at where you are, what the sky looks like, what the air smells like, how fast is your heart beating. Give yourself a moment’s peace. 

If you really want to improve yourself, try this; read a newspaper. Any newspaper will do. Just try it for one week, from cover to cover. Don’t skip the sports, business or the want ads. You will be amazed at how much you don’t know, and how much you do know. Reading will clear the cobwebs, dust off the imagination, polish your soul, and give you a good laugh or two. 

And if you procrastinate, at the very worst, you will have a stack of newspapers you can recycle. But if you don’t, you will find out many things about yourself and the world you live in. 

But you don’t have to tell anybody about it. Let’s leave guilt out it. You’ll feel better.

TODAY'S BYLINE:
McKee, who gets around in a wheelchair, is an Albuquerque writer, poet, performer and producer. She writes a column that runs in Insight & Opinion every Tuesday. You can email her at chairgrrl@chairgrrl.com

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