For a long time, I've been meaning to write about procrastination, but I never got around to it until an old friend brought up the subject.
There just never seems to be enough time left over after work and family activities.
There's always something else that has to be done.
Then there are all the other alternatives that take less effort and give more immediate gratification. I could watch a movie, go for a second or third swim of the day, do some extra sets in the weight room, hang out with friends, take my road bike out for a spin or read a few chapters from a great novel.
I could also keep busy doing those mindless tasks that have to be done anyway - putting in a few loads of laundry, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and looking for other things to fix around the house.
But I don't like that nagging, vaguely guilty feeling of procrastination. It holds me back from feeling completely relaxed and at ease. It prevents me from enjoying all the fun things I would rather do with my time.
That feeling is not unlike the feeling a physician gets if he's not quite done with the last patient before moving on to the next. If the diagnosis doesn't quite fit or there seems to be some crucial information missing, I won't feel comfortable unless I take the time to review the chart and call my patient back.
Physicians are no strangers to procrastination. Though we might be a little disappointed, we aren't terribly surprised when patients come back for a refill of their cholesterol medication many months after they should have run out, when they take a year to do the blood tests I ordered and when they return not having started that exercise program, lost weight or quit smoking.
If this happens too often, it sends a message to the physician. No, it doesn't mean he has a bunch of deadbeat patients.
It could mean he hasn't given all his patients the support they need to achieve their goals. This would include anticipating potential obstacles, arranging any follow-up that might be needed, or breaking a bigger goal into smaller more doable goals.
If my patient procrastinates the goal I've set for him, it could also mean that it's not really his goal.
Patients are generally polite and will go along with the doctors' plan - at least until they leave the office. If the goal isn't important to the individual, he won't bother making the change.
This is relevant to wives whose husbands seem to procrastinate particular items on their to do list. If they're not important items on the husband's list, they are less likely to be done.
If you've been procrastinating the same thing for ages, ask yourself if it's important to you. If it really isn't, take it off your list. You've got a lot more important things to put off doing until tomorrow.
Next: What's on your procrastination list? Let's be honest. We all have a list even if we don't get around to actually writing it down.
