[1]In the year 1995, John Perry, a philosophy professor in Stanford University, had devised a theory called “structured procrastination”. The concept talks about harnessing the powers of procrastination to get things done.
John has now expanded his essay into a book titled The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Dallying, Lollygagging and Postponing. According to John, when a person is procrastinating, he puts off more important tasks till later and fills in the interim period with other marginally useful tasks. That’s why a procrastinator need not be necessarily be lazy.
Although at first glance, the theory appears warped, psychiatrists insist there is more to it than meets the eye. There are two ways of approaching any task, points out psychiatrist Dr Sharita Shah. She says, “Either you go with your gut instinct and do it immediately, or you keep it for later to weigh the pros and cons and approach the task in a systematic manner.” There could be several reasons that cause us to procrastinate. “It could be fear, anxiety or even perfectionist instincts that hold us back. Some of us also use avoidance as a defence mechanism to sit on the fence and not decide,” Dr Shah adds.
It’s more dependent on the situation than on the individual, she says. Even though a procrastinator can be productive, the key, however, lies in prioritising. “It’s not constructive if we continue to do unnecessary stuff and never get to the real job at hand. We need to prioritise for every situation, maybe only then structured procrastination could work for us,” adds Dr Shah.
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