Procrastination Is Protection

A while ago, I was procrastinating in a strange way.

I had a long to-do list, and I kept avoiding the first few things on it, the things I actually should have been doing.

Instead, I happily kept myself busy with the less urgent ones, like organizing my travel journals.

The whole week flew by, and I didn’t feel like I’d accomplished much.

I told my wife about it one night.

“If you really want to do something, you’ll naturally do it,” she said.

That got me thinking. What was I subconsciously avoiding? And why didn’t I want to face it?

Maybe it was fear. Fear of facing those tasks. Fear of how much work they’d be. Feeling self-conscious before I’d even started. My brain had already decided they’d be a hassle, so I kept putting them off.

Then she asked, “What if you could travel twenty years into the future and talk to yourself today? What would you say?”

I thought about it.

“Like what you would tell the younger you,” she said, “the one who was about to make that career change.”

I remembered that moment so clearly. And I knew right away what I would say to him:

Go do it! It’s not too late. Don’t wait.

The procrastination you feel right now is often an excuse your brain makes to protect you.

Often the task itself doesn’t take long. It’s the procrastination, the self-criticism, and the overthinking that take the time.