I used to think I was a procrastinator. It was an idea I’d picked up somewhere because I was always putting things off. I still do, but now I call it scheduling, not procrastination.

If I have an issue with procrastination it is for two reasons:

a) It is essentially a judgement or criticism. Nobody looks up to a procrastinator; you don’t hear things like “She’s a great procrastinator, it’s my ambition to become like her”.

b) I don’t want to be made to feel bad because I decide to put off until tomorrow what I could do today.

The proverb says “Procrastination is the thief of time”, I think the opposite is true; putting things off actually buys you time. I don’t know about you, but when I put something off its generally because I’m doing something else instead. It’s not as if I just sit and stare into space instead of doing my chores.

As with so many proverbs, there’s another that contradicts the first: “Look before you leap”. Taking time to deliberate allows you to verify your instincts, and you may find out that what you’ve been putting something off for valid reasons.