Procrastination is not necessarily bad. Sometimes it's simply a sign that your brain needs more time/information before taking on something. Of course, other times we are simply lazy!

Ilya,

I completely agree. I would put it in the same category as the way we talk about "incubating" an idea.

Even if the next action is already plainly on your list of commitments, sometimes the conscious or unconscious choice to put it off for a few more minutes or hours is actually the best choice - so that you'll be that much smarter, bolder, or ready when you do it.

That being said, I don't want to glorify most of my own procrastination as wise choosing. Most of my putting-off is driven by fear and unconscious hidden commitments (like commitment to holding myself back, being safe, or playing small) - at least that's my current theory.

One thing that helps reduce procrastination is to be rigorous when defining your next actions by defining the actual next physical, visible action. Half the battle is getting started - so if you paint a really clear simple picture of what starting looks like, you're more likely to actually start.

I find procrastination is ALWAYS the result of unprocessed "stuff." If i am not doing something that I think I'm "supposed" to be doing or "need" to do, then it is either because I have some conflicting commitment that needs to be addressed, or because I have not clearly enough defined the next actions - the number one reason for my procrastination is that I have a project sitting in front of me and I'm treating it as a task.

For example, As soon as I figure out that I CAN'T just send a letter to all of the potential donors for the building fund because I don't yet have a list of the potential donors, I don't yet have a letter, and I don't yet have postage, I can begin making lists of next actions that I can easily begin picking away at - the first one being to call a fund raising expert I know on how to best approach the letter, and who to put on the recipient list. Now I'm going out to lunch - a much more attractive item on my to-do list than the amorphous letter sending "job."

I see your points about the fuzziness of this metaphor. And I'm glad that you took the initial thoughts and created something more workable for yourself. That's really what we here at the David Allen Company most care about: that you not necessarily take our word for gospel, but integrate the higher principles for yourself in whatever way will be more practical and powerful for you.

Thanks for your "brutal commentish actions" ;-)

Best,
Michael

How much time saved, and less gray hairs for that matter, if I had eliminated all the time procrastinating instead of getting things done. Even for those who don't consider themselves procrastinators, we all have been and continue to in some way or another.