We live in a hustle and bustle world. Full of deadlines, sports metaphors, and motivational quotes about smashing through our goals.
In the religion of hustle and bustle, there is but one sin:
Procrastination
We have been so indoctrinated into the world of the hustle that even a momentary lapse of procrastination immediately causes guilt.
We feel guilty because procrastination doesn’t get us to the next stage, it doesn’t get us closer to our dreams, it doesn’t get us anywhere.
We are all in the rat race, blinders up, on full tilt, and there is no reason to slow down.
Unless, there is?
[Spoiler Alert: There is.]
Procrastination For Percolation
Some of our problems feel like brick walls. The non-stop hustlers would tell you to go gung-ho into that wall until you smash through it, but this doesn’t always work.
Archimedes had a problem. His king was given a gold crown, but wasn’t sure if it was pure gold. To tell if it was pure gold Archimedes would need the exact volume of the crown, which would be difficult to say the least.
When did Archimedes discover the answer to his problem? When he was in the bath. In a moment of excitement he leaped out of the bath, running around the streets yelling Eureka!
He didn’t discover the answer in his lab, or while he was hard at work. He discovered it while procrastinating because he was allowing the problem to percolate in his mind.
If we always hustle, we never have time to let things stew, and sometimes that is exactly what we need to reach our ‘Eureka!’ moment.
Procrastination For Reevaluation
Procrastination can be a good time for something else as well.
Deciding if this thing is even right for us!
It doesn’t matter how busy we are or how many goals we accomplish if they aren’t leading towards our authentic dream life.
How much time do we waste doing things that don’t really matter, all because we never take the time to step back and look at the big picture.
If we are procrastinating that much, we should take it as a sign that we need to reevaluate why we are tackling this task in the first place.
Procrastination For Energy
If we burn the candle at both ends, we’re going to burnout.
Life requires a certain balance, even if the hustle religion would like to tell us otherwise.
When we spend all of our time grinding towards our dreams, we leave no time for ourselves to look up and enjoy what we’ve accomplished so far.
We need to have days of fun. We need to have days of rest. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Our goals feel fruitless if we don’t take the time to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
In the religion of the hustle and bustle, to procrastinate, is to sin. But nothing is ever that simple. We can’t distill life into the equation ‘Hustle = Accomplishment = Happy.’
So don’t feel guilty the next time you procrastinate. Take some time to let the task percolate in your mind, reevaluate the situation, and do something that recharges you.
In the land of the hustle and bustle, the occasional procrastinator is king.
Do you think it’s okay to procrastinate? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
You’re preaching to the converted in my case 😉
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Glad to hear it! Isn’t life a lot better when you aren’t stuck in the constant hustle and bustle?
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Oh yes, I couldn’t bear to live like that. I’m French and we cherish and need our downtime – good food, wine, friends, discussions, debates, books….all of these take time and the “busy busy bees” are hugely missing out. Plus, as you said, taking a break is often the way when confronted with a problem – you come back to it with a refreshed mind and you’re likely to be much more productive then…
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Luxury is the seat of culture.
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I love this:)
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Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
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Too much of everything is bad. Too much of hustle and bustle and too much of procrastination aint good for nobody. Striking a balance does the magic for me.
Educative post, as usual.
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You’ve got it right, balance is key. I wrote this to shed light on the side that I think people tend to ignore. Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your insight!
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You are abdolutely right. Most of us ignore the positive aspect.
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Reblogged this on Bag Lady Boutique.
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Thank you so much for reblogging this! I’m so grateful and honored!
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Simply Excellent. Thanks!
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No, thank YOU. This means a lot to me!
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Amen!
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I definitely feel guilty from procrastinating too often and that anxiety stop me from doing more. I definitely agree. Nice perspective!
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It’s all about seeing things from every side, that is the way to achieve a greater understanding of life. Keep learning and keep growing!
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You explained that so well. I already have a religion so I don’t buy into the ‘religion’ of hustle and bustle. It’s OK to watch others burn out if that’s what they want. Not me. I’m not French, but I love their attitude. 🙂
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I completely agree, if other people want to burn out I’ll try to warn them, but it usually doesn’t work. A lot of European cultures seem to have the good life figured out. They find the right balance. Thanks for commenting!
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I vote procrastination for energy!!!! There are just some times that you must take a break to re-energize!!! With the multitude of deadlines once in a while you must take a moment for yourself!!!!
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You are so right. Without energy, anything we do will be sub-par. And then you will never do your work justice. Thanks for your enthusiasm!
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Solid points. However, we are indeed fighting against a culture that ostracizes procrastination.
Unless, we would collectively go against this and then be dubbed lazy.
That’s very funny…
I agree, as it is when I am reconvening with the sheets, solutions, ideas and resolutions come to me.
However, this does not always work either and certainly does not work for everybody.
If we were not preoccupied, though, with claims and who is right/ wrong; we could have co-existed and be at a place of acceptance.
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