Do you really know a single person who has never been called a procrastinator?

I cannot think of one person I personally know who hasn’t ever put off something in their life. Sure, there are people who will immediately start a project, homework assignment, housework, etc… and finish it, but have they never really put off one teeny thing? That’s a bunch of BS if they tell you they haven’t.

I personally believe we are born to procrastinate. It’s human nature to put off the “hard” and “boring” responsibilities and do something we consider “fun”.  Don’t you agree? We are pleasure seekers and task avoiders.  Some of us actually get a charge of feeling stressed when the pressure increases to finish a project, assignment, or even wrapping Christmas presents.  It gets our hearts pumping and we begin to experience the stressful yet electric thrill of panic to get everything completed by its due date. The stress we feel makes us feel alive inside.  Of course, we create our own stress by how we react to our environment.  Some people handle stress much better than others, and even though we may go into “freak out” mode, we still don’t do anything to change the behavior pattern. Why?

I belong to royalty in the Land of Procrastination. I am the Queen’s first cousin.  Admittedly, it isn’t my best nor my worst quality; however, I haven’t made any true attempt to change the behavior. Granted, some of us are more skilled procrastinators than others because we repeat the pattern in every aspect of our lives. One of my nephews, for example, is one of those “let’s get it done and over with” kinds of people. This is really admirable since he is only eleven years-old.  He has always been this way, and at first glimpse, one would not think he was a procrastinator, but he is. When it comes to completing chores, he puts it off.  The only difference is that he never shows any stress about getting them done.  As much as my sister and brother-in-law nag him, he never seems to let it bother him.  My fourteen year-old niece is an entirely different story.  She will work on project a little at a time but focuses on the minute details within 24 hours of its due date.  She handles the stress completely different from my nephew.  Now, many of you may think, “Oh, that’s just the difference between males and females and their age.”  I disagree.

I’ve known men who have procrastinated planning a date, completing a project, or turning in a report until the very last minute. They may show their stress differently than women, but they get the same electric charge and thrill.  I had an ex-husband who on Christmas Eve bought my Christmas presents from an auto parts store!  In his defense, I had just bought my first car and he thought car wash soap, Armor All, squeegee, and a chamois, and ugly stuffed animal dairy cow slippers were something I needed for Christmas.  I have also known women who are like my nephew.  They may put off something like responding to a social invitation, ordering a cake or gift, or going to the grocery store and never seem to “freak out”, yet they don’t change their behavior either.  Why?

We’ve all experienced procrastination on more than one occasion.  Some of us live by it and other’s won’t admit that they’ve done it.  It’s one of the many things that makes us human.  There are those of us who refuse to believe they belong in the “P” world, gladly accept living in their own self-created stress and chaos, and learn the power of procrastination responsibly without making the people around you crazy. No matter which one of these individual you are, at some point in your life, you have procrastinated and the behavior pattern will never completely change.

I will see you at the next coronation in the Land of Procrastination.

~A Mac