Shard #4 Perfect Procrastination

Disclaimer: This blog was ‘procrastinated’…

Before starting my very first blog The Shard Nurse, I researched blogging and noted the importance of posting new content regularly, at least 2-3 times per month. So, when I started to write, my goal was to post every 11 – 12 days. You might have noticed that this blog is over four days late…

Why is it late (on my timetable only, mind you)? Because I found the blog needed to be just right, perfect even, and so I started to procrastinate. Now, procrastination is not new to me, and I do work well to a deadline, but I wanted to understand more about why I, as a normally well-organised person, don’t ‘just do it’.

To?get you into the groove, check out this short (2:21 mins) video: Procrastination The Musical I love to show this to my uni-students ??.

Procrastination, the good the bad the ugly

Of course, my first source was a browser search and I found that Leonardo Da Vinci, of all people, was a star procrastinator. Did you know that he should have painted an important painting for Pope Leo X in 7 months, but only finished it 15 years later? Well, I would never put myself in the same category as Leo, but you can read about it here:

Mayo Oshin goes on to explain some reasons for procrastination such as lack of motivation, lack of confidence, evaluation of the task, distraction (no surprise in our world of scrolling), and time delay. You can read for yourself how you might tackle these different points.

But it dawned on me that I procrastinate because I want to do things perfectly. I cannot seem to get going if I am not sure if I can complete the task at my own high expectations.

What to do?

Positive Procrastination and Perfectionism

One of my PhD supervisors shared that her home was never cleaner than during her PhD study. Procrastination led to a sparkling house! I can relate…

There is research that explains the virtues of procrastination as being opposite to rushing into something uncertain, and most probably then making a mess of it (Steel, 2007). In the history of procrastination (yes, really) it was seen as something positive and wise to do until the Industrial Revolution around 1750, when the notion of procrastinating started to be seen as a weakness (Steel, 2007).

A blog by DeVry University in New York links procrastination to creative, innovative, and original thinkers.

In the blog, Psychology Professor Pychl is quoted as stating that ‘procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem’. Eckert et al. (2016) support this with their research.

Well, here is my answer to my above question! My fear of failure and criticism (maybe my own inner criticism) leads to procrastination.

Another interesting point I found, was the differentiation between procrastination and prioritisation. As a nurse, I should be good at triaging people and tasks, but doing this consciously is the key. For more on this check out another university page: ?

So, how do I find the ‘sweet spot of procrastination’ as per Adam Grant?

Procrastination can be perfect

Two things I am taking away from my mini research is that procrastination can be good and wise, but it is more like prioritising than procrastinating. I understand why I am procrastinating, and the solution was given to me by wonderful Emeritus Professor of Nursing Anne McMurray who told me to:

When you look at the image above, can you see the line after the last word? I was going bananas trying to get a screenshot without it. Then I thought, I might never finish this blog if I cannot let something like that go. Now please get me right, I have high standards for myself, but I am learning to prioritise the important things. Sometimes good is good enough, if it means I can get it done!

So, this blog is not perfect (authentically imperfect actually, see The Shard Nurse #3), but I have sought to make it as good as I can, and through the journey have learnt that giving my best and doing what I can is good enough and that I am good enough! YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH!

What are your thoughts on procrastination, perfection and good enough?

References:

Eckert, M., Ebert, D. D., Lehr, D., Sieland, B., & Berking, M. (2016). Overcome procrastination: Enhancing emotion regulation skills reduce procrastination.?Learning and Individual Differences,?52, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.10.001

Steel, P. (2007). The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure.?Psychological Bulletin,?133(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65