My Favorite Form of Procrastination

Thoughts as of 3/26/2024

It is hard to sit down and do the work.

The book The War of Art lays out this difficulty quite well, labeling it “the resistance.”

I have been able to use the concept of resistance as a perfect signal as to whether or not something is worth doing, in that the more I dance around and avoid sitting down and moving towards a solution or putting in the work, the more important it is.

Unfortunately, my favorite methods of procrastination are considered colloquially to be productive. Reading books, listening to podcasts/audiobooks, conversations with old friends. These are all great in their own right, but when they are used to avoid other more important tasks or thinking, then their utility diminishes.

I struggle with action.

It is much easier for me to read a million and one self-help books, learn about psychological principles, or the latest discoveries in health and wellness than it is to take those very same lessons and apply them to my day to day life.

What good is it to have read 100 books if you are not able to synthesize and put into action the knowledge you are (or should be) absorbing?

This was a failing over the last year that I realized in the course of a conversation with a friend.

A book had come up in conversation that was shorter and not as novel as others I completed that year, and so when asked what the lessons were, I drew a blank.

After some prompting it started to come back to me, but I realized in that moment how quickly I move from one subject to the next without adequate time to digest and reflect on the material.

I tend to bury myself in more books, podcasts, or other assorted rabbit holes when there are difficult decisions that need to be made, or work that needs to be done.

I can justify it to myself by saying the hours spent with books are more beneficial than hours spent watching TV or the latest trendy movie that everyone will forget about in 3 months.

I still believe this to be true, but if I am spending the time to go through these books, I might as well take an extra beat and get leverage on that time through deeper analysis that can be evergreen or shareable.

Even still, it would be a form of procrastination for the important decisions, conversations, deep thinking, and actions that need to be taken in my life that are necessary to get me from where I am to where I want to be.

It is funny to me how I am reading all of these business books that talk about leading and managing people, running companies, common pitfalls, sage wisdom, etc. and yet I am not even in a place in my life to implement nearly any of the tactics.

Really leaning into that “one day” mindset, as in “hey, one day this may become useful!” Newsflash bozo, that could and should be today.

I write this post as I should be taking a course to improve my job prospects, updating my resume, and sitting and seriously thinking through how I want my life to look over the next chunk of time.

But alas - I only have a few more chapters left in this book…

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