“Procrastination is the Thief of Dreams.” When I heard best-selling author Tia McCollors state this during a writing workshop a number of years ago, I immediately started reaching for a pen so I could write this profound phrase down.
As I thought about why her statement resonated with me so much, I had to admit how much farther along I’d be in my writing career if instead of watching Judge Mathis and calling it” research,” I turned off the television and started to write. And just as quickly as I thought it, Tia then mentioned how much more work can get done when the television is turned off. “Ouch!” is all I could think at that point.
Even as I nodded my head in agreement with what she said, my mind took a quick trip to the piles of projects that I left undone at home. I even started to feel a little conviction for not following through on what I knew I had promised myself and others. I kept looking straight ahead hoping that my mind would travel to a place that had the” right” strategy to get those projects done. The only thing that I felt was a slight headache from the thought of how much energy it’s going to take me to get them done and the regret of how much time I’d wasted.
Thinking about her statement years later, I have to admit that I’m getting better, but I have to admit that I still struggle with battling procrastination. I see so many things and ideas that I can write about that I get overwhelmed at times…procrastinate…and write about none. With so much uncertainty and chaos in the United States and the world, it’s actually easy to use those political distractions to justify being spiritually distracted and procrastinate when it comes to following God’s purpose and direction for our lives.
So why do I procrastinate? Is it because I don’t want to do it? Don’t I think I can do it? Don’t have the time to do it? For me, as with others, it’s a combination. Proverbs 27:1 warns us “Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.” Researchers who study why people procrastinate say that it is a form of rebellion against rules that we do not agree with and expectations of others.
For example, when I discuss the writing process with my college English writing students, most readily admit that they procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do their papers. For some, it’s because they don’t know what to write about. For others, it’s a matter of poor time management. And for others, it’s because they simply hate writing and, like all of us, have a hard time doing things we don’t like doing.
But what if your procrastination isn’t about something that you hate doing…. but something that you enjoy doing? Who do you blame then…. yourself or can we spiritualize it and blame the devil too?
Rather than seeing it as just a cute bad habit that everyone has, fixing the problem of procrastination takes more than admitting it exists. It also means you decide to start actively pursuing your dreams and stop being an accessory to the crime of dream stealing.
Shewanda Riley is a Dallas, Texas based author of “Love Hangover: Moving From Pain to Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @shewanda.