Procrastination is the thief of time

Habili-blog 10/22/18
“Procrastination is the thief of time”
by Jared Mayes

When I was a child I created a habit. I would eat my meal progressively from the foods I didn’t like to the ones I did like so that I could finish the meal with the “yummy” bites. First, I’d struggle through the broccoli, then the mashed potatoes, and finally ending with the meatloaf. If you were to watch me eat today, this practice would still be evident. Most of my life I attributed this oddity to some sort of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

I have come to realize that my active pre-pubescent brain was onto something, and that I was delaying the gratification of my favorite food. My parents would make me eat my vegetables regardless, so I chose to get those out of the way first so that I could enjoy every last bite. This resulted in a fulfilling taste being left in my mouth from the ketchup smothered meatloaf rather than the boring, earthy taste of broccoli. The fact that I have been able to keep this practice in play for most of my life with no parental pressure to eat vegetables is still a mystery to me.

I have recently embarked on a mission to apply this philosophy to every aspect of my life.

Let’s face it; if I was to task anyone of you with 3 hours’ worth of work, 1 hour worth of something you are good at and enjoy doing, 1 hour worth of something you kind of enjoy doing, and 1 hour worth of work you despise doing; most of us would start with the thing we enjoy, then spend about 2 hours fumbling through the work we kind of like doing, and at least 3 hours switching off between checking social media, playing a few games of minesweeper and a couple coffee breaks before finally getting the hour of work done that we hate. Three hours’ worth of work stretched into six just because of the order we chose to do it in. Procrastination at its finest. I’m not a psychic but I’d put money on the fact that at least half of you can relate.

Now what if we flip flopped that order. Right off the bat you sit down and knock out the hour worth of annoying work, followed directly by the so-so work. Two hours later you get to sit down and end your work day with your favorite task, wrapping everything up in three hours and making it home in time to binge watch your favorite show on Netflix. So, why is that so hard to put into practice? Most adults don’t value their time enough to make the most of it. They don’t see the perks of productivity and managing their time wisely.

wasted time equals wasted opportunities

Once you come to realize that time is valuable, you can start to eliminate procrastination from your everyday life. So, let’s take a look at how this relates to addiction. Rehab isn’t very high on a drug addict’s list of priorities. The thought of putting in work and remaining sober doesn’t sound as appealing as wasting away on the couch getting high. I have learned to value my time and what I decide to put my efforts towards.

A 2 ½ year program is hard to swallow when you’ve never been able to stay clean for 2 ½ days, but if you can truly value your life and the years that proceed long term treatment the choice is clear. Sure, there’s a lot of things I’d rather do than spend that length of time “fixing myself.” It’s like perpetually eating broccoli for 2 ½ years. Now I get to reap the benefits of living a good life, doing the things I enjoy, eating all the figurative meatloaf I can stomach. I might even throw in a little metaphorical ice cream sundae when I grow old and my hard work has paid off.

I will no longer allow procrastination to burglarize my valuable time. Don’t let it steal yours either.