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Welcome to the Table
Welcome to the Table is a podcast where honest conversations about mental health, relationships, personal growth, and life's messy moments all have a seat. Hosted by mental health professionals, each episode blends evidence-based insight with real-life stories, practical tools, humor, and unfiltered conversations. From burnout and boundaries to grief, healing, and everything in between, we explore the topics that shape how we live, connect, and grow. Whether you're looking for practical takeaways, fresh perspectives, or simply a space where you feel understood, pull up a chair... you're always welcome at our table.
Welcome to the Table
Episode 7: Procrastination
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In Episode 7, Dr. Stacey and Regular Travis are diving into something we've all done at some point: procrastination. Whether it's putting off a dreaded task, waiting until the last possible minute, or convincing yourself that cleaning the entire kitchen is suddenly more important than the thing you actually need to do, procrastination is a surprisingly complex part of human behavior.
Together, they explore the different types of procrastination, why we procrastinate in the first place, and what may be happening beneath the surface when we avoid getting started. Is it laziness? Lack of motivation? Perfectionism? Anxiety? Overwhelm? Or something else entirely?
But this conversation isn't about simply telling you to “stop procrastinating.” Dr. Stacey and Regular Travis also explore how procrastination can sometimes serve a purpose and when putting something off may actually be helpful. They discuss the difference between intentional delay and avoidance, while sharing personal experiences and relatable examples along the way.
And, of course, they get practical. The episode wraps up with strategies for understanding your own procrastination patterns and making it easier to get started, follow through, and break the cycle when procrastination starts getting in the way.
So pull up a chair, put off whatever you're supposed to be doing for just a few more minutes, and join us at the table as we ask: Why do we procrastinate, and what can we actually do about it?
Welcome to the table is the wellness podcast intended for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. While the hosts are licensed professionals and guests may have professional experience and expertise in mental health, healthcare, or related fields, the information shared on this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical or mental health condition.
SPEAKER_01Listening to this podcast does not establish a psychologist client, therapist client, physician patient, or any other professional relationship between you and the host, guests, producers, sponsors, or affiliated organizations. The content presented should not be considered medical, psychological, legal, or professional advice, and should not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare or mental health provider who is familiar with your individual circumstances.
SPEAKER_00Some topics discussed may involve mental health challenges, trauma, grief, addiction, suicide, abuse, and other sensitive topics that may be emotionally difficult for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. We encourage you to engage with this content thoughtfully and seek professional support if you experience distress.
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SPEAKER_00We're so glad you're here. Pull up a chair and welcome to the table. Hello, folks. Welcome back to the table. We'll see when if where he might show up. But for now, we're going to be talking about procrastinating.
SPEAKER_01I'm here. Sorry. I was uh uh just catching up on the topic and in my uh car. Yeah, I was uh yes, hello, Dr. Stacy.
SPEAKER_00Dr. Travis.
SPEAKER_01Dr. Travis today. Doctor of procrastinating. That's uh that's me, a little PhD in uh hold on a minute. All right. I'm I'm feeling good and we're settling down and we're breathing. And the procrastin. I promise I am not gonna pass out. I'm here ready to talk uh about um uh uh identity. I mean procrastination.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to the table.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Doctor. It's good to be back to the table. Breathing is under control.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh we are talking about procrastination.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, let's talk about what we have at our table before we dive into procrastination. We do you may or may not know anything about. Yeah. Um we're at a big table. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It looks like if we were bankers and we needed to have a board meeting, because bankers have board meetings, right? Probably. Like B-O-R-E-D meetings. You know what I'm saying? Like, more like Borafil. Um but it's a big table, it's a long table, and again, we are a quarter of the table usage. Because here, folks, we are a green podcast. We don't use the full table. We use just a quarter.
SPEAKER_00There's other things that the rest of the table can and needs to be used for. So we take up as little of space as possible.
SPEAKER_01We do small footprint, and we really let the table be itself. The table is a table holding all the things it desires to hold and not what we want it to.
SPEAKER_00That's right. One thing we do want it to hold usually is delicious drinks. Um in the name of procrastination. We failed to account for what our drinks would be today, so I'm drinking water out of my travel water bottle that goes everywhere with me. Straight out of the car, into the room, onto the table.
SPEAKER_01Is it cold?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01It is. Do you are you a you like have to have your water cold?
SPEAKER_00Yes. I can do, I can chug out of a glass, glass, has to be glass.
SPEAKER_01Oh.
SPEAKER_00Room temp water.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00And otherwise, I want it to be cold.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I want my cold things very cold. I want my hot things very hot. I'm not an in-between gal when it comes to my liquids.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. That's that's great to hear. Mine is full of, it's a it's this thing called H2O.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Which I'm just trying to church it up a bit. It's water folks. Um, but I want to describe, because I have my pink, which is my favorite color, hydro flask, little bottle insulator, and what's all over it, Stacey? Looks like stickers to me. You can't have a water bottle with all the stickers that say, hey, look at me. I've been places and done things. Like this says something about me. But I do want to highlight real quickly one thing on here. You see this sticker here? Do you see what that says?
SPEAKER_00Solidarity?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Solidarity Farms is an urban farm in downtown Lorraine. And they have several locations where they actually farm in an in the urban areas of Lorraine and they provide fresh foods to a lot of local uh restaurants and to the local communities. And so cool. They they will accept snap benefits and other forms of payment. So it's a fantastic thing. Solidarity Farms, downtown Lorraine. If you're ever down there, they have several locations. Check them out. Great produce and all kinds of fun stuff. That's my not even a shameless tag. I'm happy to tag it.
SPEAKER_00It's just a plug.
SPEAKER_01And yours is in a bromate.
SPEAKER_00Broomate. Oh. Hello. Um, let me tell you, I'm a water bottle connoisseur. I have a whole shelf um in my kitchen. Yeah. And so many things about the brewmate that I do love. It seals. So there's a straw, but I can spin it and then it's leak proof.
SPEAKER_02Oh.
SPEAKER_00However, what I will say is the straw itself is like kind of rubbery.
SPEAKER_01I see that.
SPEAKER_00I prefer a firmer straw, if I'm being honest. That would be my one complaint about the brewmate. They have great color selections. I think this is the 30-ounce. There's also a 40-ounce, and I have it, you can imagine. Um but I I have I'm still on the quest for the perfect travel water bottle. I've not found it yet, though my cabinet in my kitchen would tell you otherwise.
SPEAKER_01So I'm curious. I know we got to get into this, but let's procrastinate a little more. Um, so when growing up, did you have a family member who collected like spoons, thimbles, precious moments, any kind of like collectible thing where they had it on display? Yeah, is there anything in in young Stacy's memories of those? Like my grandma collected little trinkety, these little glass animals in various colors.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01And so I'm just imagining. Sorry, answer the question, then I'm gonna tell you why I'm asking you this.
SPEAKER_00I don't really think so. I mean, there were some precious moments, and I'm wondering if those are from like hand-me-downs from older family members. And then um my mom did some like painting on ceramics. Oh, so a lot of like um sorry, that was like not going to describe what I'm actually trying to describe. A lot of our like decorations would be like it was a little figurine leprechaun, but it was painted by my mom. Um for the holidays. For the holidays. So I don't know if that's really a collectible, but that is a trinket of sorts.
SPEAKER_01Um, but not like you know, the beanie babies, the precious moments, nothing on display, like in a so why I asked this is when you said you had a lot of water bottles. I picture, because now a lot of those things end up in thrift stores because family members, as they pass on and they're like, Grandma loves spoons, she has one from every 50 state or a thimble. And then you get in there and you're like, I love my grandma, but nobody wants your spoon collection. And they end up in like the thrift shop. Yeah. And one day, Stacy, your collection of like, boy, she was really into mugs, and everyone's like, I don't who's gonna take all these mugs. Yeah, like I think about that with the stuff that I keep at my house where I'm like, these are awesome. And I have no kids, so my nieces and nephew, just if you listen, my young ones in my family who I maybe they'll listen, you're stuck with it. So good luck, I'll be dead. I won't care. So do with it what you want. Hope that you you love my uh nail collection. And I mean lee press ons. Like I was really into lee press ons. So if you know what that is. All right. And we've procrastinated enough.
SPEAKER_00We've procrastinated. Well, okay, so let's let's start with what the heck does procrastination actually entail or mean? Uh via Miriam Webster.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I love this.
SPEAKER_00This the definition is to put off intentionally and habitually. So utilizing it as a as a verb, another way to describe this is to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.
SPEAKER_01That's pretty on the nose, I think. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01But I sense that we're that there's a but coming. Like a big thing.
SPEAKER_00I think you can procrastinate things. Well, no, I guess then that wouldn't be. No, no. I think I'm I think I'm agreeing with that definition. I was trying to find a caveat of like the should should be done.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. The question I'm wondering is would you define yourself as a as a high level procrastinator? Everybody I think has a little touch of it, right? There's things we'll kick the can down the road on because it's like I don't want to deal with it. But then there are some of us, and I will uh so before you answer, I will I'm this is me, folks. I am why she called me Dr. Travis today, because this is my area of expertise. I am a professional procrastinator in all the worst and best ways, I think.
SPEAKER_00Yes, we're talking about. How about you, Dr. Travis? Dr. Travis. Dr.
SPEAKER_01Travis.
SPEAKER_00Um it's interesting because I would say for most of my life, not at all. Like chronically early, getting things done ahead of schedule, blah, blah, blah. And the older I've gotten, um, arguably the busier I've gotten, the less I am what I just described. I'm lean more towards the procrastination side of things. But I would say, like, here's where I would, you know, raise the question: is there a difference between um being a procrastinator or just having a full plate and getting to things only within the time that you're able to get to things?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think what sticks out to me when you read the definition is the, you know, the intentionally and habitually, right? Because I agree with you and why it's easy just to kind of throw out the word procrastinate as this blanket statement. But yeah, there's times in life when we may have to choose and even sometimes choose like the better thing over the good thing. Yeah. Um, just because there's just too much on our plate. Uh so I would I would say that having a full plate and then putting off things is more like prioritizing. This has to be done, right? If the boat is sinking, we gotta bail the water, right? So that the boat stays afloat and then we'll fix the hole. Yeah. Or whatever's causing it to late.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah. The phrase that I say often is, you know, gotta handle, tend to what's on fire. If it's not on fire, it's not making it on my list right now. Yeah. Which as I say that, then I'm like kind of thinking about instances where I'm like, oh, there were some times when you could have done that, but you didn't. Um, but then you also need time for rest and rejuvenation and joy. And you know, so I think there's a fine line between some of those things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, but yeah, I I would agree. And again, I'm I'm a little biased here. I'm trying to like not identify as a procrastinator. So I'm giving a lot of reasons why I would not categorize myself as that. And I think that certainly there are instances where I would fall into that category as well.
SPEAKER_01Well, and and you correct me if I'm wrong. You are the clinician. We call that a positive reframe, right? Just reframe it and make it really not. But I do think, and it's probably like a percentage pie chart um based on kind of our needs, right? That there are times when rest is more important. You know, I may have the goal of like, I really need to get this run-in, for example, and this amount of miles, but my body physically and maybe mentally, I'm just not there. And it might be better for me to take a nap. Can I get to it later? Sure. Or if I don't, being okay with like, okay, maybe I just needed the rest more than the thing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for reminding me that I haven't ran in two weeks. Yes, I am procrastinating.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, there's the just remember the song, right? You procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate the things I hate. You can also use the song delegate. So then you can delegate the things. That was that was weird. I like a little weird.
SPEAKER_00No, I like the uh I like the concept of the the delegation portion. Unfortunately, I can't delegate my body to somebody else to be like, can you go make AF really quick? And I'm gonna go take a nap.
SPEAKER_01Now, but what about have you seen those ab machines where they say belt up and it like works real well? Maybe maybe there is like a like a running one. Do you have a trusted friend who could remember, you know, like when babies you'd kind of like kick their legs?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, when they're ghastly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Maybe you just need somebody to grab your legs and like just move them and like you got it in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, perhaps. And then I can be like laying down, you know, typing something up or reading something.
SPEAKER_01You could be carpaying those DMs like crazy. It really could be.
SPEAKER_00It really could be. Okay, so um, let's draw in something else. I'm thinking of a clinical term that sometimes we associate with procrastination. Um, or we might say somebody who has blank procrastinates a lot, and the word I'm looking for here is ADHD.
SPEAKER_01Oh.
SPEAKER_00So let's talk about the correlation between ADHD and procrastination. Let's do it. What's your take?
SPEAKER_01So you know, I I wouldn't pretend to be a full understander of ADHD. Um but what I could gather is how they might be connected is that ADHD sometimes makes it difficult to focus and stay on task. So you might actually with full intention start something, and you see these kind of like these little you know, whether it's on Instagram or TikTok, these funny videos of like living with ADHD. But it is and I uh folks, I'm not diagnosed with that, so uh I can't pretend that I even understand it from lived experience, but I have seen folks who do have it and again with full intention have an end goal of a process, but when they start it, all of a sudden then I get this side quest, then this side quest, then this side quest. So it's not even really about I need to put this off as much as maybe it's a distraction, yeah. Is how I understand it and maybe how it could be seen if that maybe ran across, like if your work had a deadline or your schooling had a homework assignment, and you really did get so distracted that you just didn't get it done. So from that authoritative, they might consider, well, you just put it off too long. What do you think about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. No, I I would follow right in line with that. I'm thinking about um some things where you know we can all look into the DSM and find ourselves in various diagnoses, even if we don't really meet the full criteria. And the an area where I would really see myself in that diagnosis is when I'm trying to, you know, I have a couple hours to get some things done and I start laundry. And in the middle of loading up laundry, I'm like, oh my gosh, I never responded to that email. I better and in what I've learned is if I don't do it right then and there, I'm not doing it. So I've like kind of succumbed to as soon as I think of something or have an experience, I need to tend to that immediately. Otherwise, I run the risk of losing it. So, you know, it's a little bit of a tornado when I'm trying to get some things done because I'll start laundry and then I'm like, oh my gosh, I never cleaned out the refrigerator. So I haven't finished loading laundry, but then I start doing the refrigerator and then I'm like, oh my gosh, the dishes I have to clean those dishes out immediately because they're gonna smell. So then I start doing the dishes, but in the middle of doing dishes, I'm remembering that I didn't pack an item that I need for a you know long car ride that I'm gonna have in four hours. So I better go do that right now, or I promise you I will forget. So it feels you know, you mentioned the concept of like um social media, you know, you might be ADHD if, or you know, here's some some things. Um, I would very much fall into a lot of those stereotypes. And again, if we're looking at the formal DSM diagnosis, like I don't meet the criteria. Um so yeah, I think I think there are a lot of overlaps, and we'll see folks claiming or or self-identifying. Yeah, I have a really hard time with getting things done, finishing things, and even being motivated to start things when we're looking at the ADHD side of things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um but I think that begs the question, and you kind of alluded to this, like different types or reasons for procrastinating. Yes. So I want to um pull up some information on those. Um, this is an article actually from um Simple Practice. They made a post on different types of procrastination. Um so I'll read through the different um types of procrastination. So the first one being arousal procrastination. So these are where people put things off because they like the excitement of leaving it to the last minute. So it's all based in arousal and desire for arousal. So my mind goes to, well, if we have that, we are at high risk for addiction.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um so maybe so, maybe not. We'd have to look at the research.
SPEAKER_01But um, like flood of dopamine, maybe from like I pulled that off, like the heist or the caper kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00A hundred percent. Yeah. So an example would be somebody who waits until the very last minute to write uh an important paper or submit to a deadline the second before it's due, just because they claim I feel good when I'm under that amount of pressure, as soon as I hit send, then I have that release of dopamine.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's interesting. Almost like I do my best work under that pressure. If I do it before, it just won't be as good. Yeah. And then you decline the payoff is the dopamine. And then if you get a good grade or a high praise, it just reinforces that cycle.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01Arousal.
SPEAKER_00Yep, absolutely. And even prior to getting the grade, just the act of it now being off your plate. I mean, yeah, the ironic part about that is it's off your plate and you probably did it at the last minute. So you have another one coming up, whatever the next deadline is for whether this is school or work, you're just running into another deadline because you procrastinated.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But that momentary feeling of like, oh my gosh, I have this huge sense of relief. I don't even know what grade I got or if my boss is gonna like it. But like that like kind of release. I also think, yeah, I think that that plays a role too.
SPEAKER_01Are you familiar with Indiana Jones? Uh I always put uh Dr. Stacy. So he he would use a whip. He'd use a whip. Uh Doctor, I love putting Dr. Stacy on the on on the uh spot with asking about movie references, but many of you may know Indiana Jones, who's an archaeologist. And by the skin of his teeth, this is how I imagine these procrastinators. He would always be sliding under this like falling door, and his hat would land on the other side, and he would have to reach under quickly and pull it in. And then he would have his hat nick of time before the door closed. And I that's the so they are the Indiana Jones sliding under the door, getting their hat at the last second, like, woof.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Well, I got my hat. That is arousal procrastination. So if it was the centerfold of a porn mag, you might have like uh I don't know, like the deadline on a clock, and you're just turning it. That's that's what it would look like, folks.
SPEAKER_00That's exactly right.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, there we go. Vivid imagery.
SPEAKER_00That's arousal procrastination. Um, avoidant procrastination takes on a different role. Um, folks are gonna procrastinate because they're afraid of the results. or consequence of completing the task at hand. So an example would be they have delays driven by fears rather uh fears of failure rather than desire for success.
SPEAKER_01So full disclosure, because I like to just share all of my shit out on the on the waves. Why not? I had these assessments done. I was at a workplace and I would just put off my work, as you can imagine, not meeting deadlines. And they wanted me to see this assessor to do this full battery of like personality tests. And one of them was like, you know, kind of trying to figure out why I procrastinate. And he said that he thought I wasn't too perfectionist. And I didn't understand that because I never felt that way. But I think it was more of this like you avoid it because not because I thought oh I would not be perfect at it, although that was his spec and maybe I did or do but it was more of just like what if it isn't what they wanted from me. And I could not live it was like okay another movie reference here, folks uh Back to the Future George McFly would always say I just couldn't handle that that type of rejection so would just not do things. That was me. I was always very much like I don't know that I could handle disappointing. Yeah. And so I just wouldn't do it. Because for some reason the payoff payoff was less disappointing than I didn't Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well we can go back to kind of the desire for control too. Oh. So you know in that instance not that that was necessarily the result that you wanted, but you determined on your own free will that you were not going to do it. And I already know what the outcome is so it's not not an unknown. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Boy I tell you Dr.
SPEAKER_00Stacy is she's uh just you know sign up for some services with her show get you fixed well I've never fixed you up I've just told you things that is true. So this is I could just tell you what's wrong. That's all I got.
SPEAKER_01Dr. Stacy, yes she lie she tells me all the time how I'm wrong. No, I'm kidding.
SPEAKER_00I'm teasing no she does not okay next type of procrastination. Oh there's another one. Yeah there's we're there's a few more actually I'll shut up so impulsivity related procrastination. So procrastination often involves impulsive and unplanned behavior as procrastinators prioritize immediate gratification over long-term benefits, reflecting the lack of self-regulation.
SPEAKER_01Oh would you say that that is somebody who can overcommit in the sense that you know oh these 20 things are happening and I want to be a part of all of them because another mentor mentioned to me once that uh I would we were writing this paper together and I would sometimes as you can imagine show up to his office having not done what I was supposed to do didn't get my homework done but I would have ran like a clothing drive and he'd say you pick the most honorable things to procrastinate like you know what I mean? Like well how do you get this done? But I got clothes for the less fortunate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah yeah maybe something like that. Yep. Uh the example that they give is um putting off writing an important paper in favor of something easier or more enjoyable. Oh. So something that you you know really valued or appreciated. So I think that would fall right in line.
SPEAKER_01Falls in there. Yeah. Like Taco Bell. You could write a paper or eat Taco Bell.
SPEAKER_00And which would you choose?
SPEAKER_01Taco Bell. Well you could do both presumably I could but Taco Bell like you gotta live in it.
SPEAKER_00You know you gotta be like You gotta live moss that's right gotta live moss oh boy okay okay next uh distraction procrastination as the as the name implies you might be able to see where we're going um this is going to be um you know somebody who might be distracted by all of the things around them you know iE phone technology things like that um and those distractions can cause them to delay their task um difficulty staying focused um so this one I'm really thinking back to the our original connection of ADHD. Yeah um yeah I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Yeah. Easily distracted, therefore we're not doing the thing that we initially intended to do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah and or the idea that like I'm just gonna turn this movie on I've seen a thousand times because it'll just be background noise while I work and then all of a sudden I'm watching the movie and still not doing the work that I need to get done. Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That could never be me. No I cannot put something on and say I'm going to work while I'm doing it. Same. Even if I've seen it before. Like it's already out I'm like if I'm not in I can't even have words. You know people listen to music and do a task not me. I'm listening to binario beats focus level I don't even know what the frequency of that is but something that makes me like I can't even hum along because I don't know what the beat is about to be. It can't be instrumental either we call that Zen music. Yeah yeah Zen music can't be an instrumental version of anything because then I'm just gonna sing the words in my head anyways which is not helpful.
SPEAKER_01It's interesting I'm the same though and I actually run like physically run without headphones. That's a wild that is I hear that all the time people like what's not in your ears when I'm running they'll stop me like why what what's going on here? Are you what's what's this I would have the same question.
SPEAKER_00I mean it's kind of impressive really means you can be so present and be okay with how much the level of discomfort that running provides that you just take it.
SPEAKER_01I you know yeah thanks I I'll take that I'll take that okay so follow-up question can procrastination be seen in a positive light I think that the short answer is yes I do think but it so I'll caveat it with sometimes or a lot of times it can work out. And so your procrastination maybe you didn't do it and then all of a sudden the deadline gets moved. So you didn't have to get it done or oh we didn't have this piece of information so good thing you didn't do that because you would have had to redo it right so I guess in that regard you could see it as okay that's okay that's okay. The other area I would say procrastination can be a useful thing if I've tried to turn my procrastinating nature into a slower pace of existing where I'm more mindful in the moments that I do things. So even though there are times when maybe it is a distraction that's not typically the case I'm probably more avoidant I think is probably my ultimate form of procrastination. But I think you could and that would probably be a very thin thread to connect those two. I think so often procrastination just has become such a dirty word that it's hard to m find the positives in it even though there probably a large portion of us who are full blown fully out there procrastinators unite we tried to have a meeting once but nobody showed up so oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00Okay so I'm gonna okay I'm gonna agree with yes that there can be some positives and from a different angle. And what I mean by that, the phrase that comes to my mind is productively procrastinating. Oh meaning I have seven things that need to be done. Six of those are really not that important. One of them's pretty important and has a deadline but I choose to do the six that are not that important instead of doing the one thing that has the really intense deadline.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um so I it's not that I wasn't productive during that time. I was being very productive arguably sometimes more so than had I not had one thing that was really important.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I got all those six things done because I'm just avoiding doing that one thing. So I would argue that that is a productive way of procrastinating assuming that you still are able to get done the task that needs to be done.
SPEAKER_01So you're using the thing you're putting off as motivation to knock off a bunch of other stuff on the list that otherwise may still sit undone if you didn't have this larger procrastin. Man, I like that. I'm always looking for a positive spin on procrastination because I suspect that it will just be a part of my life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01At this point, folks there really is no new tricks for this old dog.
SPEAKER_00So well so what I was pleasantly surprised to see in going through these different types of procrastination is productive procrastination does fall in line and it is in fact a type of procrastination.
SPEAKER_01So we can put productive in the list.
SPEAKER_00So individuals engage in activities that although not are are not directly related to their primary task or goals result in a productive outcome. I like that. Yes I like I said I use that terminology frequently both in just personal life as well as in the clinical realm um you know is there a way that we can provide some grace did you do the one thing that you really needed to do yes or no ideally the answer is yes. But if it was done at the last minute only because you did the less important things, maybe that's not so bad. That might be a way that you were motivated or just kind of your workflow in general that that makes sense. Which I think begs us, you know, ask the question, you know, do you understand how you work best? Are you somebody who does a workflow of like ramping up easy to hard tasks or do you prefer to like get the worst thing done and out of the way first and then have an easy come down.
SPEAKER_01That's a that's a really great so momentum right is what we're talking about. And I also like here to just throw out to think about how you define what is productive for yourself. Because even if we say because I think in terms of sometimes what is productive and I'm using air quotes here folks could be a list of tasks that I need to accomplish but isn't it just as productive if we need rest, if we need a disconnect from something and we doom scroll for this amount of time and we still write so some of those things even though we may not categorize them as fully productive can be productive and it's kind of like knowing I need to go for a run but maybe I need a nap. I take a nap and now all of a sudden my body feels a little more rested and I can get out there and do it. Did I kick the can down the road? Yes. Did I get the run in?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it it all worked out. So I I I like that I like the idea that we can focus on momentum and pro procrastination kind of being this positive thing that we actually got more done. Whereas if I would have just did the big thing maybe I would have never got these 10 other things done right in my day because I'm fried. I'm like oh that tacks me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah that's a good point. So would you how would you prefer to have your your workflow easy to hard hard to easy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah and you want to random and sometimes it depends but I'm typically an easy to hard like I got to prime the pump get my mind right wrapped around like what I have to do and uh and there are times when you know the outcome is still not a positive one like I will get to the end of doing the other things and maybe the time has just almost run out or or I've just to the point where I'm like, nope, I'm not gonna do it. So I almost have to set my mind to this is leading up to this thing you have to sit down and tackle. And I will tell you folks the mind of a procrastinator i.e when I'm down to the I'm not getting the dopamine hit of like maybe a little bit when it's done because it's done but the whole time I am fucking cursing life like why all you had to do was a little bit every day and then now you've not done any of it and now you have to sit here and do this and and I'm so angry because I want to externalize it so bad. Like why does my company XYZ or why would this person want to when really it's just it was me. Yeah. Like why do I have to do this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah yeah yeah that I'm thinking um in in the name of like making excuses for the situation and reasons to procrastinate, I'm thinking back to writing my dissertation and it was one of those things where once I got to a certain point, truthfully if I didn't have at least an hour and a half to sit down and work with it, like there was no point because there was so much partially written that I'd have to go back and reread, you know, at least 50 pages worth of my own work to get myself to a place where I'm like, oh yeah and that's where I was that's where I left off and here's my next task that if I didn't have I would always say like if I don't have at least two hours I'm not touching it. Well next thing you know I'm like well if I don't have I mean two hours is hardly anything by that point I'm really only getting like 45 minutes worth of work done really I need like three hours. So suddenly I'd like to find myself in these time blocks where I'm like it's right on the edge of that three hour mark. I can't do that today. I can't you know sit down and write and am I even in the right headspace like not gonna lie in a lot of instances it's pretty boring work. It takes a lot to get into that flow. And that was you know my other justification like I want to be in the right headspace while I'm writing this and if I'm not and I can't get into the right headspace and flow then I just wasted two hours screwing around doing nothing. So then you know all the excuses why why I'm not writing right now why am I not reading that paper? Why am I not adding additional things? When really I could have just, you know, even if I had a half hour I could you know read something about a a topic that I'm working towards or add a couple additional you know citations or yeah excuses.
SPEAKER_01Did you ever I always think about when I can be completely honest about my procrastination what was my favorite thing that would be what I would choose to procrastinate you know what I'm saying? Or that favorite person whom like, oh thank goodness they called today normally I'd be like I'm too busy but of course I can do this with you. I've got all the time in the world what was your thing like or maybe or not one thing but what was one thing you remember like yeah I probably could have worked on it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah specifically relating to my dissertation or just in general? Yeah that or just in general yeah do you like that answer my the rest of my dissertation I did not love oh this is hard. Uh-oh because I didn't like writing at all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So you're about to sit down computer set up and this blows across your desk and you're like I'm doing that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah literally anything else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Anything an email well got to tend to that and then your time frame would eat it. Totally yeah I think the thing the part of my dissertation that I really like put off the most was um like the literature review so other people's work prepping my study once I had my study I, you know, and had my data to work with I definitely flowed a lot better. But what really hurt what really hurt wow you can tell there's a wound here. What really hurt me uh what really was difficult for me was getting feedback that I needed to add a whole nother section which meant I needed to go find more research to support something and I thought I was done with this whole section and now I need to add four more pages. What the heck else am I gonna say about this topic? That was dreadful and that is what I would procrastinate the most for sure. Well it's a whole new thing and I got to get into the right frame and yeah no thank you. Yeah not a writer. What about you? What are you procrastinating?
SPEAKER_01What am I procrastinating right now? On full disclosure, this is regular Travis. So last year I was on really good track to run a marathon. I was conditioned feeling great and then I had an injury that took me out. I couldn't do it right I had to sideline my training had to kick the can down the road to this year. This is coming up in September I have used any excuse to procrastinate on my conditioning for a marathon. This is 26.1 miles.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01And uh I get out and so my partner she is like she is conditioned. She could probably run like an ultra marathon like 50 miles. So she's very patient with me but I know and if she listens to this which I hope you do um she's always very kind like no no you're not holding me back we can we can run this limited amount slow is and the pace is good. Okay. Because you don't have a I mean there are elite runners who who pace crazy but for the most part it's not even a pacing it is literally my mind the idea of like it's just your shift to these priorities. So I will find myself watching the day unravel and I know there's a time cutoff. Because when you run high miles it takes a lot of time. So then I'm like well this time it's similar to your dissertation. If you don't have enough time I don't have enough time and really three miles is not even anything now for my training. So it's a waste even which is dumb right every all of it all of it adds up you know and I will find any reason you know um and some of it very good like I love to paint. So I'll be like well I just started this painting and it's like yeah but you could do that anytime.
SPEAKER_00But anyway, you know yeah I I hear you on that something else that's really easy to procrastinate you alluded to this is just like admin tasks paperwork in the job. Oh my gosh. Yeah you can count on me to be behind and the phrase that's that's in my mind and I say a lot is it's really simple and I can do just a few notes. I don't need to be in any you know mindset. So if I have a good chunk of time I should not use that to do documentation. I should do something else that requires more time. And sometimes that is very true. Like sometimes I can really be working on things in a higher distracting environment um and sometimes am I just putting it off I don't know TBD well and productive procrastination.
SPEAKER_01Productive procrastin well and that's a great and that has been um you know a recurring theme. I just had coffee with a former uh supervisor of mine and I mentioned we were going to be talking about this and she chuckled because you know she worked on coaching me had suggested this book Eat Eat That Frog or Eat This Frog or something like do the hard thing that you really don't want to do first and then you know you kind of get it out of the way and many, because I was a case manager and some of you who work in the field know as Stacy mentioned in her clinical work, you have to have clinical notes for the services you're providing in a timely manner and they connect to a larger of billing and well you all know right I would put that stuff off you know to a full month and sometimes even get in the red zone where they're like you have to do this. Yeah you know and my boss would be like we're sitting here you're working late to get these done uh and so still to this day I have admin stuff that is the stuff that I hate and here's the thing folks the world and my employers will not just listen to me and get me somebody who'll do this work for me. So you know that's on them really at this point.
SPEAKER_02They are actually procrastinating.
SPEAKER_01They should just you know enable my procrastination yeah yeah yeah so do you believe that you can overcome procrastination?
SPEAKER_00You said no at this point you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
SPEAKER_01Well I think that is what I so I do think that there are techniques and methods you can employ to combat it. And I wonder if similarly to a lot of things this is part of the habit looping in our brains where it's just become such a habit that it right that's the groove I live in whereas the more I could disrupt that habit of procrastination, maybe I could form a new habit of being a little more timely on things. Because I do enjoy the benefit when I don't procrastinate and I get things done because the benefit is the time, right? Now I don't have to compress this time or I don't have to say what if the date that I the final date is also conflicting with this really fun thing or whatever I need to do. But I can't because I put this off so long Now I'm to the right. So I think there are probably methods and techniques. Um and I will say that I've come a long way in my procrastination.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I um I think that there are definitely ways to alleviate some of the negative effects of procrastination. I do think that to some degree, you know, there's a point in which it is kind of a part of your identity. Like you kind of are, you know, a last minute person. Um, but I want to go back to what we were talking about with kind of understanding or determining what your workflow is, being biggest task to smallest task, or vice versa, smallest to biggest. I think when you know which one of those you are, you stand a chance at at least, like I said, alleviating some of the negative symptoms of procrastination and maybe reaping the benefits of um, you know, the good thing being, you know, you got all these smaller tasks done. Maybe you didn't get to the big task, but had you not started something, you wouldn't have gotten a task done at all. And I think um, back to something I talk about when we're looking at setting goals and encouraging people to write down what they want out of situations, there's this interesting take where if somebody writes, you know, 10 goals and they only meet five of them in their allotted time frame, they're like, well, that's a 50%. I failed, um, which is a really unfair evaluation of setting goals. Cause the reality is, had you not set those goals, you probably would have met zero. So instead of looking at it in terms of a percentage, like I only got X amount done, I got X amount done. And I would have gotten zero had I not put that out on the table.
SPEAKER_01Ooh, I like that. You know, it makes me think of I think sometimes um obviously if you're feeling a disconcertion over an element of your life, putting some intention into potentially improving it, changing it. But but very rarely do we think of integrating it into a more productive way of living and accepting that this is a part of me and getting out of that kind of mindset of, well, this is an evil moral failing bad thing, and or that it's a good or praiseworthy thing, but it just is, right? Yeah. That me as a human and in my, you know, my uh kind of invention of self, this is just a part of me. And so I instead learn to live with this and I like to sometimes give the things of my life a bit of agency and call them like my teachers, right? So pain is an instructor, joy is an instructor. So these things like procrastination can be a teacher to me that I can maybe integrate them, as you said, and look at the positive that, yeah, if I'd have never even tried any of these things, I would not have it, right? So instead of wins and losses or these grading scales that we grew up with, we look at this as just forward mobility. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I'm thinking so I would typically identify, or I would historically say I prefer to be the, you know, do the big thing first and get it out of the way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, but again, as things have changed over time, whether that be just because of this age of life that I'm in or the busyness or whatever, so many plates spinning in the air, um, I find I much more often am doing smallest to biggest just to get a couple easy check marks. Um, and I think some of that is very much rooted in, okay, we have some small wins to be able to build that momentum and get to the next task. And again, worst case scenario, if I don't get that big task done, at least I've had some reinforcement that I'm capable and able of, you know, doing some of these other things.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01And I, you know, sometimes I forget as an integrated human, right? That we're talking about kind of a mental and emotional space uh and we disconnect it from the physical space. So for example, if I'm gonna enter into resistance training, I'm probably, if I've had no conditioning, not gonna walk into a gym and bench press 300 pounds. I may have to start incrementally building momentum up to the success of doing that. And even when I will, that's not typically for the average person gonna be like I bench press it like 20 times. Yeah. You're gonna get a single push. And so integrating our physical, emotional, spiritual, all of that together is recognizing that if in that space I'm comfortable with the incremental winds of momentum, can't I apply that to the same over here in my mental space, in my spiritual space, my sense of well-being space, that I can be okay with the momentum building up to the bigger thing, right? And it being okay. Because I'll accept that in other areas of my life, but for some reason I'm like, well, that doesn't apply here. Need to just be able to do it.
SPEAKER_00Just do it and get it done.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Bench press 300.
SPEAKER_00Come on. Get on it.
SPEAKER_01Stacey just curls that, folks. I went into the gym and they're like, there's crowds. They're like, What is who is this? And she's like, Yes, get out of the way.
SPEAKER_02They're cheering, they're screaming.
SPEAKER_01They are. It's wild, folks. It is wild. Yep. Planet Fitness on Hilliard. She'll be there.
SPEAKER_00Well, okay. So identify how you work and translate your workflow from other areas of your life to this space. Yes. That's our our number one. Okay. Another thing that I think we can talk about, um, which goes into that is getting organized. So lists sounds really silly, but just writing it down, um, determining, you know, through your determined workflow, make the list accordingly. In which order do you need to do the list? Maybe that's important for some folks. Other people, not so much. Doesn't matter. Just if it's on the list, it'll get done. Um, are you a list person?
SPEAKER_01I am about 20% list person. Okay. It starts with full intention and then it it can fall to the wayside. So, yes, I fully agree because my spouse, she is a list person all day long. She has them all over her home office and she really sticks to it and it helps her brain organize to the next thing. And uh, I want to be a list person, but it's just I'll start with checking off this one thing, and then where does the list go? And you know, I I get off track, and then it it's just not following the list. But I agree with you. Um, I'm all I am a post-it person. So it may not be a list, but I might put a little post-it up, a physical thing that says, gotta get this done. And I try to put it in spaces that I'm most likely. So for example, we have this external hard drive that I've been needing to bring to our meetings to do some stuff with. And, you know, Dr. Stacey would say, Travis, do you bring the external hard drive? I'm like, oh, you know, it was so this time I put it with like the stuff I knew when I leave the house, I'm always that's the habit, right? I grab these things, so now this is there. So making things convenient for you to do it, like put it in your pathway of your normal routine so that way it doesn't feel like this odd thing out of your regular routine works really well for me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I am with you on that. Like anything that I need to not forget goes on a pile by the door.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And it's yeah, aesthetically not pleasing by any means. And that's where my bag is, and that's where my keys are, and that is where my returns that I need to make, my mail that I need to send out, my, you know, all of the above is in that one spot. And externally it doesn't look organized, but it's organized in the sense that I'm going to remember to do that thing. When I'm with you.
SPEAKER_01I think that is too key is whatever it looks like to anybody else doesn't matter if that works for you. So you don't have to just because there are lots of, if you get on, you start looking up organizational styles, they look fantastic, but it does you no good if that doesn't. I wanted to be. Do you remember the huge? This predates some of the more technology, but you could buy these planners, and they were in leather bound, beautiful planners, and you could put pages in and there are places. I loved the idea. And I would buy one every year. And you know how far it would make it into the year? About half of December, really. Or December, geez, no, uh half of January. Like it was, and then it would be what's even in there. Then I'd find it at the end of the year, and I'd be like, Oh, look, I had written in January to do these things, and nothing after that.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01And a business card from you know, whatever, who knew, right? So great idea. And many would use that, not me. My spouse again, she's very organized, but she would buy her planner and she used it. Mine, there's probably a drawer full of stuff like that where I'm like, this is gonna be and people would give me and be like, this is really gonna change your life. And I'm like, nah.
SPEAKER_00I can relate so much, um, so much so that I have a planner every single year.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And every year for the past probably three years, I've used it less and less. The first year that I used it the least, I was like, it's because I changed the type of planner that I had. Like I had this expensive, it's so stupid. Why am I spending $45 on a planner? But it is what I actually utilized. And I stepped down to a more affordable one that wasn't quite everything I wanted in it, and I didn't really use it. But I fear that was the demise of me actually using my planner because then I went back to the expensive, nice planner this past year. And I haven't touched it in weeks now. All that to say I've, you know, cycled in and out. But I tend to be, you know, I have to have everything in my phone because my phone's with me. I don't bring my planner everywhere with me. Um, but I tend to be a write-it-down person. So something over the past two years that has been really silly but useful to me is just I carry around a notebook in my bag and I will have a pen and a highlighter. And the pen is just, you know, bullet points of things to do, highlight when I check it off and I'm done. And suddenly that has kind of replaced my planner. Not that I really want it to, because whatever, that's a whole other story. But, anyways, yes, I too have fallen victim to thinking that the planner is gonna save my life and don't use it as much as I say I will.
SPEAKER_01Again, it's what is gonna really work for you and be honest. It's okay that it doesn't look pretty to anybody else. Yeah, if it's working for you, use it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So next in line, I would say working on habit stacking. So a book that I've hardly read, but I've read some of it. It's atomic habits. Atomic habits. Yes. Uh the concept of habit stacking being um, I'm already doing this one task. I'm gonna pair the new thing that I'm trying to do with it. So every morning and every night when I brush my teeth, I will also blank. Um, maybe that's expressing gratitude or jotting things down or planning for my day or, you know, whatever. Um, but pairing things with things that you're already doing can be really helpful in terms of, you know, not procrastinating or falling victim to kind of forgot it was even on my plate, you know, I've I've gotten distracted and now it's out of out of my realm of reality.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that really works well for me. When I can put the novel thing in with my existing kind of processes, I tend to do best with that because these are hardwired pro right habits, obviously, that I rituals that I will practice all the time. So adding that in works really well, you know, and uh and maybe you're gonna get to this, so I don't want to jump the gun, but I will tell you what another thing that doesn't work well for me is uh some of the accountability, even with the most loved loved people in my life who I'm like I want them to hold me accountable, I don't because I get super resentful fast and I get that grumpy little like I know, I know, right? And they're trying to be helpful, and even if I'm like, just remind me. Yeah, like my poor spouse has to take the brunt of that because she's very organized, and I'll be like, I want to get organized. She's like, that is like her dream. She's like, This is amazing. And then I get super grumpy. Yeah. And then she's like, I have to, you asked, and now you're a grumple under the rug.
SPEAKER_00Now you're mad at me for holding you accountable.
SPEAKER_01Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Not good. Not good. Okay. So another another thing that I think is worthwhile is um just recognizing if procrastination is kind of innate in you and how you operate and you do it productively or well, or if it's holding you back. Because if it's not actually holding you back or causing any issues, forget everything we just said. You probably don't need those things if how your functioning is doing, it's going well for you. Yeah. Um, so I always talk about like, like, let's not make this into some pathologized version of something. Just because it's not how other people do it doesn't mean it can't work for you. Or maybe it seems disorganized to others. But if that works really well for you, who am I to say you shouldn't be doing that? You know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I appreciate you saying that too. And that's where I always like to say be gentle with ourselves because we can look at the comparison game that, well, what is productive and what is the way I should be existing? And you can spin your wheels a lot and spin your mental health out trying to conform to things that are just never gonna work well for you when, in fact, like you said, you were successfully doing things as a procrastinator. Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's that's exactly right. So um, turning to some research, looking at the Journal of Social Psychology, um, there's an article that talks about um active procrastination as kind of a a title. So go back to, I would say posit or productive procrastination would fall into this category versus passive procrastinators. So passive procrastinators are those in the traditional context of procrastinating. So doing things because they don't want to do it, they fail to complete tasks on time, they might be categorized as lazy versus somebody who is an active procrastinator. This is more of the positive, this is seen as more of a positive. Um they prefer and do well working under pressure and they make deliberate decisions to procrastinate. That would be an active procrastinator. Okay. So I don't, I mean, it's an interesting take on procrastination that I I don't know that I really I can't say that I'm an active procrastinator. I don't actively say it's not a strategy. I'm not strategizing procrastination. But I think in some ways it can be viewed in maybe, you know, subconsciously I am actively procrastinating.
SPEAKER_01Well, and that was that was gonna be my next kind of question or thought is even if it's not an intentional strategic thing, is it could it still be just an operating system where subconsciously you just operate that way and it works. And so by that you are an active procrastinator because you just know how to move it around. But it's so natural, it's just your operating system.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And if it's working and you continue to be reinforced for those habits, then you're probably going to continue to do that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I don't know. I don't know either. It's an interesting thing. I want it to be so positive. Because I've only ever had it in the, you know, the negative terms. And I am at this point in my life interested in not that I don't want to, and I I don't think we ever stop learning new ways or things about ourselves, but also finding peace with who I am and how I work and how I operate, and it not being this moral failing or this evil thing, but also having the wisdom to choose spaces and places where that is not necessarily celebrated, but it works in that space. So don't put myself in a career that is highly driven by deadlines and this, essentially setting yourself up to either constantly be failing or constantly be just under stress because you can't meet it and learning, okay, the career rhythm for me might be something a little more flexible, whimsical. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a good point. Again, going back to like knowing who you are and how you operate.
SPEAKER_01Who you is.
SPEAKER_00Who is you?
SPEAKER_01Who is you?
SPEAKER_00Okay, it's time for healing and hot takes.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it is. Bump but healing hot takes with taste. How's that?
SPEAKER_00True or false. People pleasers are the biggest procrastinators.
SPEAKER_01So it's interesting that you bring this up because I would also categorize myself as a big time people pleaser. And I can see the connection. I really do. Um, because there are, I think, a lot of things. One, so this is the weirdness. I'm gonna say true through my personal lens because I know there are times when I have said yes way more than I should have, and I overextend myself. So then by design, I now have to figure out how to procrastinate.
SPEAKER_00Now that could be productive procrastination.
SPEAKER_01Well, and so in this sense, maybe, but I'm gonna say that what tends to happen is I will say yes and then have regret, like, uh, I said yes, I will help you move on Saturday when I absolutely do not want to help you move at all. And so either I might start looking for the reason to get out of it, or I just show up and then I'm resentful towards you. Yeah. And how could how is that fair to you to carry that when I said yes? Um, or I will it will genuinely be a thing I want to do, and I'll say yes, and I know the person's very happy about it, but the work involved is not what I want to be doing, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I hear you.
SPEAKER_01I don't know if they're the worst. Maybe. I know I am the worst. Terrible. The worst at both. I didn't say yes to the podcast to make Stacey happy, I will tell you.
SPEAKER_00We don't know that yet. She You could be holding resentment right now.
SPEAKER_01The jury's out. Only, you know, and that's silent resentment. It only eats me up. So great.
SPEAKER_00Doesn't affect me at all. How about you? What do you think? Yeah, I say in a lot of ways true. So I want to differentiate. I don't think I think that they can be mutually exclusive. Like I think that somebody can be a people pleaser without being a procrastinator, and I think somebody can be a procrastinator without being a people pleaser. But I do think those who people please are at much higher risk for procrastination for the exact reason that you said. Like I think that they tend to be um yeah, just like the overextending, the um wanting to do things for others as opposed to doing things for self is going to create a disconnect in how much time we have and what we can put our energy towards. We only have a, you know, a set amount of energy to pull from. So if we are constantly giving that to other people, okay, how much time do we have for our work and sleep and our values, our um hobbies, our spouse, our, you know, I think it can be easy to get into that state for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yes. I I I agree. So again, not mutually exclusive, but definitely connected. Yeah. You know, high risk. I think there's a correlation for correlation is not causation.
SPEAKER_00I was going the same direction. Okay. So to wrap up, I think in some procrastination is not black and white. There's like so many variations of how we procrastinate, why we're procrastinating. Can it be productive? Uh, I would argue in some instances, yeah. Um, some procrastination, not productive. Yes. Very, very much hindering individuals. Um, I think there's ways that it can show urgency, which can be very motivating for some people. However, think about the people who crumble under pressure. Yeah. Those people are not going to do well with that sense of urgency. Therefore, procrastination is not for them. Um, I also wonder, and I think we've kind of alluded to that, but without exclusively saying it, some procrastination, I think, is a defense mechanism. We're putting something off, we're avoiding. Yeah. What's underneath that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's astute. Very astute, Dr. Stacy.
SPEAKER_00So ask yourself, am I avoiding something? Yeah. Um, yeah, I think call to action for the week here is determining if your procrastination is helping you, if you're doing it in a productive way, or if it's potentially hindering your growth. Um, and if if it is, refer back to some of our kind of tips and tricks for how to work through some of those procrastination actions that you may be possessing. Drop of joy. What do you got?
SPEAKER_01Good stuff. Ah, my drop of joy uh is I was able to not procrastinate. I did get my miles in for my training run this week, even though it has been a bit of a struggle mentally to do so. And uh I am glad that I got them. But so that is a drop of joy, uh, mainly because the deadline is, you know, I gotta run a million miles.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I don't want to be able to do that, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Right. So you have some motivation there to get after it.
SPEAKER_01Drop of joy.
SPEAKER_00That's a drop of joy. Okay, my drop of joy is twofold. One, I have a slower-paced weekend coming up, which I've been super, super busy the past few weeks. So I'm looking forward to not having a ton of things on the agenda. Uh, second drop of joy is that we recorded this podcast because we actually have procrastinated. This has been on the docket for nearly a month now, and we are just now recording it. So it feels good to check off the procrastination episode off of our list this week.
SPEAKER_01It sure does. And look at that. We made it.
SPEAKER_00We made it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, thank you for listening, as always, tablegoers, and we will see you next time on Welcome to the Table.
SPEAKER_01We sure will. Bye. Hello.