The Positive Side of Procrastination

How many times have I started a blog post, saved it and then not posted it until weeks later? How many times have I looked at my never-ending “to do” list and then spent my half hour prep time scrolling through Twitter? And how many times have I left report card writing right down to the wire before the deadline? Too many times. Or so I thought…

I listened to a Daily Ted Talk podcast this morning that made me feel a whole lot better about my regular procrastination routine. According to Adam Grant, procrastination is one of the “surprising habits of original thinkers”. He explains how there is a sweet spot of procrastination that actually allows people the time and space to consider different perspectives and come up with more original ideas. He’s not talking about chronic procrastination, because chronic procrastinators are people who spend too much time goofing off to think of original ideas, but he refers to people who might start something and then stop to do other things before returning to the task with fresh eyes and a fresh mind. Therefore, procrastination is actually a catalyst for creativity!

I love this idea, and it seems to connect perfectly with the design-thinking ideals of Cohort21: we begin our action plans, then return to them several times to re-think and iterate and discuss with colleagues. We blog: sometimes all in one sitting, sometimes in multiple sessions to arrive at something original and wonderful.

I believe the members of Cohort21 are truly the original thinkers of our schools. We are the changemakers and dreamers and innovators. So let’s keep on procrastinating! Now I better get back to marking those French assignments… 😉

unsplash-logoEmma Matthews

8 thoughts on “The Positive Side of Procrastination

  1. @mneale YES! You’ve just liberated so many of us from our shame. This is actually such a great discussion for educators and in some cases will cut to the root of assessment (and judgement!) of students. It may be that there is such a bias against procrastination that we fail to recognize the efficiencies and productivity within it. I believe as a whole we can be too insistent on processes because objectively a process can appear logical; but it may not work for everyone in quite the way it’s intended. So what do we do? Do we punish or do we help students to see what did work or could work for them?

    Thank you for this!

    @acampbellrogers @ashaikh

  2. I loved this blog Mackenzie. It is succinct, impactful, and validates “procrastinators”. Procrastination is often viewed as a negative trait without any wider thinking of its value as a practice for intermittent deeper thinking. This blog re-frames procrastination and celebrates it as ideation. As you put it, “the sweet spot of procrastination that actually allows people the time and space to consider different perspectives and come up with more original ideas.” This blog was also timely as many of us are in the process of evidencing our action plans…..

  3. Talk about a validating blog post! Thanks for your perspective and analysis on this quality resource, Mackenzie.

  4. Fantastic @mneale! I too have viewed my own procrastination as a negative; however, taking time to revisit, reflect and occasionally overthink is often what I am doing. Usually, the end result (the product) is something I am happy with. Thanks for re-framing this for me!
    L.

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