Laziness vs. Procrastination
I have a weird little habit when I travel. When I souvenir shop, I don’t go for the big items. I buy magnets. I like to collect magnets from all the different places I (or we) travel to. I have one magnet on my fridge from visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. (On a side note: Go There! I highly recommend it!)
The magnet has a quote from Mr. Lincoln:
“Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”
I see that quote every single day. Depending on the day, that quote can inspire me or bug me to no end. I feel like I need to do something like signing the kids’ permissions slips now instead in the morning when the bus shows up. Or clean up the mess on the kitchen counter. Or tackle paperwork in my office.
This phrase has also gotten me to thinking about whether I am lazy or procrastinating. I know I am a world-class procrastinator. I know I am a busy person and most things can be put off until tomorrow. Lately, this attitude has been bugging me though. Do I put things off to the next day (and the next and the next…) because I am truly busy or am I just lazy? Do I find easier to use the excuse of busyness to put off something I could do now?
What is laziness anyway? According to Webster, laziness is defined as: “disinclined to activity or exertion : not energetic or vigorous”. Another definition for laziness is: “not rigorous or strict”. The first definition would not describe how I feel, but the second one has potential. As mothers, while we need our downtime, we also need to be rigorous and strict with our time. We do our families a disservice if we do not take care of homes and our children. We need to give them our time and service to take care of their needs as well as our own needs.
What then is procrastination? According to Webster, to procrastinate is: “to put off intentionally and habitually”. This would describe me just about perfectly. I continually put off what could be done today or right now. The worst part about being a procrastinator: I am modeling this behavior for my children. They see me do this and think this is okay for them to do also. That alone makes me feel guilty. I have a lot of work ahead of me to undo this too, especially for my teenagers.
I know I can be lazy, but mostly I procrastinate. Where are you see yourself? How do you deal with your procrastination or tendencies toward laziness? Or have you conquered these deterents? How? I would love to hear how!
The next post, I will talk about how I plan to conquer my procrastination as well as how I have already dealt with some of it already.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
2 thoughts on “Laziness vs. Procrastination”
Oh how I struggle with this same thing. It takes a lot of self-discipline to "do it now" instead of later. I know I'm happier when I don't procrastinate so I take baby steps and find that the rewards encourage me to keep going. Try changing just one habit at a time; I get too discouraged when I try to overhaul everything at once. We are works in progress, and as long as we ARE making progress, call it good and keep going. My favorite phrase is "Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ."
Thanks for defining the difference between laziness and procrastination because I thought of it as the same thing for a long time but certainly you are not lazy living the frugal life that you do. It takes a lot of work. But I understand you can ve very busy for 12 hrs a day and still put off important decisions or visits or conversations and that would be procrastinating. I get it now!