Why Do Smart People Delay?

I taught a workshop a couple of months ago with a group of people who I considered really smart. Smarter than me. They deal with people all day long navigating through very complex circumstances that sometimes do not have easy answers or defined rules.

Yet the majority acknowledge they intentionally delay and replace something more important with something else, even though they understand that delay might harm them. That is pure procrastination.

You’re smart. You know what needs to be done. You know the deadline.
And yet… you still wait. You still put it off. You still watch yourself choose to do something else — over and over again.

Why?

Because procrastination isn’t about being lazy. It’s not about “time management” in the cliché sense. It’s about three major patterns that come from personal choice, planning (or lack thereof), and the process (or lack thereof).

Until you get real about which ones (or all of them) are tripping you up, you’re going to keep hitting the same wall. How do you move past? The Procrastination Time Analysis (PTA) not a personality quiz, it is a mirror — and it’s uncomfortable for some. It shows you where your delay habits live, and it forces you to deal with them. Using that data, let’s see where you can stop delaying and start moving.

Stop Thinking It’s “Just How You Are”

Procrastination is not a disease or an affliction. It’s not even part of your identity. It is the choices that you choose to make in a series of patterns. It should not be a natural state of your existence. By first understanding where you think it originates by going back the personal, planning, or process you’ve created awareness and an understanding to break the cycle of delay.

Call Out Your Procrastination Type

Not all procrastination is created equally. Failing to write a thank you card versus failing to pay your electric bill will have various degrees and intensity of impact. Therefore, understand the level and intensity of the postponement. Owning the type gives you leverage. You stop treating procrastination like being lost in a fog but you look at it as a map to lead you to move.

Attack the Right Problem

If your main issue is personal, All the planning tools in the world won’t save you. You need to deal with you. Power through any fear, perfectionism, and motivational challenges to just start.

If your main issue is planning, you must clean up your thinking systems. Get goals written every day. Sequence your work so you’re not treating everything equally. Then pre-decide how you’ll handle interruptions instead of reacting in the moment.

If your main issue is process, you need structure and accountability. Set deadlines and treat them as mandatory and not optional. Assign someone you know and trust to check on your progress at various points during a task or project – not just at the end. Take large or undefined activities and break them into smaller tasks that help you complete everything in shorter bursts.

Take the Test. Face the Data

You can read this and nod your head all day long. But until you get hard data on where your procrastination lives you’re just guessing. Might I also say, you’re intentionally procrastinating. If you’re sure where to start, may I offer the Procrastination Time Analysis. It’s free. You’re going to learn your procrastination type. You’ll understand the intensity level of the attributes that cause you to procrastinate. You’ll see the biggest drivers in that procrastination. And you’ll where to put your focus to begin to fix those problems.

Many of the folks who took the workshop took the PTA. I’m not saying it is a quick fix. It’s not. Nonetheless, give yourself an opportunity to know why you delay and what you can do to stop it.

David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, coauthor of The Retirement Collective, and owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactively planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), or all the other free resources offered to help bring more quality time into your life.