Have you ever wanted to know why you delay tasks until the very last moment, even when you know you should start earlier?
Maybe you’ve told yourself you’ll submit that assignment on time, but instead, you end up doing it the day before the deadline, no matter what. Sometimes, we know exactly what we need to do, but we do the opposite anyway.
This behavior is called procrastination. The Greek philosophers had a word for it: “akrasia,” which means doing something against your better judgment. You know what you should do, but you do the opposite.
None of us is born knowing how to manage time perfectly, so how can we understand procrastination and stop it? Here are the key concepts about procrastination explained simply.
Procrastination vs. Laziness
Do you notice the difference between procrastinators and lazy people? Lazy people don’t want to do anything at all. Procrastinators want to do the work, but they can’t start. The problem isn’t in doing the work—it’s in starting it.
Why We Procrastinate
The biggest reason for procrastination is simple: we’re not interested in the task. Have you noticed students who aren’t interested in studying? They’re interested in the degree, in the job after graduation, in the money they’ll earn, but not in the actual studying.
If you find a task enjoyable, you don’t procrastinate. You want to do it. But research shows our brain is wired to gratify itself in the present moment and postpone future rewards.
Another reason is distractions. Do you ever notice how society runs on instant responses? Notifications, messages, social media—our brain jumps from one platform to another, never staying focused. Our brain craves instant pleasure, and the concept of future rewards doesn’t exist in a closed room of distractions.
The Problem with Forced Work
Have you asked yourself why you’re doing work that doesn’t interest you? Many students in India study subjects they have no interest in. They’re doing it because of societal pressure, parental pressure, or fear.
Indian parents create horrific scenarios in children’s minds: “If you don’t study, you’ll end up driving a rickshaw.” This fear-based approach makes people do things not because they want to, but because they’re terrified of the alternative.
The Last-Minute Rush
What happens when you delay tasks until the last moment? When the deadline arrives, you enter a do-or-die situation. The work that should have taken three months gets done in three days. You go into flow mode because all your attention focuses on that one task.
This creates a strange thrill, similar to watching a horror movie or doing something adventurous. You feel accomplished afterward because you completed months of work in days. Plus, you get to brag: “I barely studied and still topped the exam—see how intelligent I am?”
But this pattern develops because the work itself holds no interest.
The Foundation is Wrong
The first step went wrong when you chose work that doesn’t interest you. Some situations are unavoidable—you can’t just quit medical school and do whatever you want. But have you noticed that education doesn’t equal success?
Do you know successful people who barely studied? India has thousands of colleges, not just ten. Do all those graduates get great packages? Not really.
The Real Solution
If you’re stuck in something you must do, try this: balance your time. Spend fifty percent on what you must do and fifty percent on what you want to do. Study for forty minutes, then reward yourself with twenty minutes of something you enjoy.
But the real question you should ask is this: should I do work I’m not interested in for my entire life, or should I spend the next one to three years shifting toward work I’m actually interested in?
Interest Changes Everything
When you do work you’re interested in, procrastination disappears. Have you seen someone learning a sport they love? They don’t procrastinate because they enjoy it. Even if it takes fifteen years to master, they’re happy because they’re interested.
Compare that to someone studying something they hate just because of pressure or fear. Which person will succeed more?
Examples of Alternative Paths
Let me give you a simple example. Do you want to make stone sculptures? You don’t need formal education for that. Find someone with experience, offer to pay them for training, learn the basics in six months, then practice.
In one to two years, you can create quality sculptures. Sell them online. Create your own website—it’s free now. No need for a physical shop, no massive investment. Just skill, practice, and creativity.
If your mind is creative and artistic, why are you running in a race that has no room for creativity? Why are you doing work that’s purely theoretical with no practical application?
Skills Over Formal Education
What is education? It’s acquiring skills, knowledge, and practical experience. But what colleges teach is often twenty years outdated and useless in the real world.
Have you noticed how startups work? Every day brings new challenges. You need to be creative constantly. That’s where real learning happens.
Procrastination in Creative Work
Here’s something interesting: procrastination isn’t always bad in creative fields. Have you heard of the Japanese writer Junichiro Tanizaki? He was given a deadline to write a book. Both he and his publisher procrastinated for six or seven months doing normal activities, parties, and socializing.
Then, with five months left, they locked themselves in a room. They literally put the lock on the outside so they couldn’t escape. The book got published a week before the deadline.
This is the thrill of last-minute work. Once the flow started, they couldn’t stop. Writers call this “flow state”—when work happens automatically because your entire body and mind are engaged. That’s when masterpieces are created.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Example
Have you heard of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa? He started it and worked on it for four years. Then he left it incomplete for three more years. Then several more years passed.
Even today, scholars debate whether the painting is truly complete. Da Vinci was a master procrastinator. But in creative fields, procrastination is necessary.
Creative people start work, lose interest when it gets repetitive, then leave it. Da Vinci worked on the Mona Lisa for years, then asked himself: “What’s wrong with this? How can I make it more interesting?”
When he couldn’t find answers, he left it for months or years. Then he’d get an insight: “I can use brushes thinner than a hair to create layers that turn a 2D image into something almost 3D.”
He’d work on it again, then stop when stuck. This cycle continued until the painting became the most famous artwork in history, worth over a billion dollars today.
Quality vs. Quantity
Procrastination looks bad from a productivity and quantity perspective. If you view humans as machines that need to produce output quickly, then yes, procrastination is terrible.
But if you want creative work, procrastination helps. When you’re stuck, step away. Do something else. Let your subconscious work on the problem. Days or months later, insights come that wouldn’t have appeared if you’d stayed trapped in the problem.
Final Thoughts
So, have you thought about what really matters? Procrastination has two aspects. One is doing work you’re not interested in—that’s a foundation problem. The other is procrastination in creative work, which actually helps quality.
The real question isn’t “how do I stop procrastinating?” It’s “should I be doing work that interests me?” Because when you do work you love, procrastination vanishes on its own.
Most people don’t ask themselves: “Do I want to spend the next fifty years doing work I have no interest in, or should I spend a few years shifting toward something I’m passionate about?”
That’s the question that changes everything.
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