I hate waste and the older I get
the more it drives me crazy. Waste of
any kind frustrates me, but nothing irks me more than wasting time.
It’s been a lifelong battle and
yet when I say this people are surprised.
I am one of the most productive time wasters you could meet. Yes, I accomplish a lot but the trouble is I
only have two speeds—overdrive or stalled.
There’s no middle ground and both exhaust me. On one end of the spectrum it takes a lot
more momentum to get going and on the other there’s no time to catch your
breath.
It’s a vicious cycle to say the
least and one I’ve never had a great deal of success breaking free from. Project after project I promise to give
myself more time to clear the gate and make it to the finish line only to find
I’m behind. It’s de-moralizing, but
recently I’ve made some unexpected progress in my lifelong pursuit of “more
time.”
In February I traveled to San
Diego with a group of folks from church to attend Donald Miller’s Storyline
Conference. I didn’t expect the
conference would talk about time management so I was surprised when the subject
came up. It made sense though. Finding your subplot in God’s story and
pursuing it takes time. In fact, it
requires time more than money. Most
people think of it the other way around but Miller de-bunks that myth.
He talked about his own struggles
and I could relate to everything he said.
It felt like he was living my life so I was dying to know what helped
him? Was it a new planning system, a
re-ordering of priorities or just sheer willpower? The answer was a little bit of all of those
things but from a more strategic perspective. This involved understanding why
you procrastinate in the first place. A concept so simple it never occurred to
me.
To help with that discovery Miller
recommended a book called, “The Now Habit,” by Neil Fiore. The name of the book resonated with me so
deeply I downloaded it on my iPad that night.
I couldn’t put it down because for the first time I was engaged in a
conversation about why I waste time rather than why that’s bad.
It was liberating. Where I blamed what I assumed was some
deep-seeded laziness or lack of organization on my part I came to see that’s
not the case. It’s neither of those. I’m just normal. Procrastinating isn’t about
being a slug it’s about pain relief.
People procrastinate because it relieves the stress associated with
getting done what needs doing. Which
begs the question why is the “To Do” list so stressful?
For everyone the answer is
different but for me it’s about boredom.
On a daily basis I have a long list of things that need to be done that
I consider very tedious and boring. Since that work is unpleasant, I put it off
as long as possible. They aren’t difficult
tasks but they offer little gratification making it hard to get motivated. So, I wait until the last possible minute and
then I grit it out which only makes the problem worse.
What’s the remedy? Turn things around. Start with the work that excites me
(ministry) for thirty minutes a day no matter what and use that as the momentum
to tackle the things that don’t. A
simple idea but one I’ve always felt too guilty to embrace. My Puritan work ethic has led me to believe
that I don’t get to make that choice. I
always have to start with what’s the most pressing even if it’s something I
hate.
Changing my tact took a leap of
faith but since giving it a try I’ve become exponentially more productive. I’m
happier too because I know I’ve accomplished something I think may benefit
God’s Kingdom. My friends and family
might not notice a difference but only because I’ve had them fooled. But, God knows and my spirit knows there’s
less waste and that feels good.
So, what’s at the root of your
battle with procrastination? Do you
know? If God’s work here on earth could
benefit from you finding out would you?
I hope so.
