“Procrastination is the thief of time,” so goes the famous quote from the 18th-century English poet Edward Young, and with more people now working from home, there’s probably more of it going on than ever.
Of course, it’s not just time that procrastination robs, but energy and money (and, in the case of climate procrastination, the Earth and our grandkids’ future, but that’s a whole other article). A study by US research firm Basex estimated lost productivity through “unnecessary interruptions” to cost a staggering US$650 billion. That was back in 2007, the year the first iPhone was released and before the world became hooked on social media. Studies now show social media to be the biggest cause of procrastination, not only consuming time and energy that would otherwise be devoted to tasks at work, but to even have a continuing detrimental effect on concentration when tackling said tasks. (Then there’s the sleep deprivation and detrimental mental health effects associated with high social media use.)
The Psychology of Procrastination
But procrastination wasn’t always such a sin.
“The Greeks and Romans generally regarded procrastination very highly,” Professor Fran Partnoy, a self-confessed procrastinator and author of Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, tells Smithsonian. “The wisest leaders embraced procrastination and would basically sit around and think and not do anything unless they absolutely had to.”
Similarly, in his book, the professor argues that it’s often advantageous to wait until the last possible moment when making decisions about work and life – but only if we’re procrastinating ‘actively’. ‘Active procrastination’ is when we delay something to do something else that, though perhaps less urgent, is at least just as valuable, while ‘passive procrastination’ is the likes of lying around on the sofa watching Netflix, which “clearly is a problem”.
Procrastination, he continues, is “a universal state” for human beings, some are just better at managing it than others.
In her book, The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success, Megan McArdle argues that though many procrastinate, for writers “it is a peculiarly common occupational hazard” – a self-sabotaging act often linked to imposter syndrome. As Alain de Botton notes: “Work finally begins with when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.”
Keeping Procrastination at Bay
A cafe in Japan has gone to extreme lengths to help creatives counter their procrastinating urges by essentially locking customers inside the premises until their deadlines are met. Based in Tokyo’s Koenjikita district, the Manuscript Writing Cafe is a 10-seat establishment favoured by local writers, editors, and manga artists who are given ‘work goals cards’, similar in looks to regular cafe loyalty cards. But, rather then collecting stamps for a free coffee, customers write down their planned finishing time and choose one of the three ‘progress checks’. The ‘mild’ option entails being asked if you’re all done as you pay, ‘normal’ means getting checked on every hour, while ‘hard’ results in staff frequently standing silently and staring over your shoulder to pressure you into finishing.
“The cafe went viral on social media and people are saying the rules are scary or that it feels like being watched from behind,” owner Takuya Kawai tells Reuters. “But actually, instead of monitoring, I’m here to support them.”
As a result, Kawai – who is also a writer – reveals that many of his customers are managing to cut their usual working hours by up to a third.
The bare brick-walled eatery is equipped with Wi-Fi and docking ports at every seat, with bottomless tea and coffee offered alongside a good selection of creativity-inducing top-shelf booze. It charges 130 yen ($1.60) for the first half-hour, then 300 yen ($3.70) per hour after that. The cafe even allows customers to remain past closing time to finish their projects.
“I think most importantly, it’s the fact that everyone around you is concentrating on a task, which makes you feel like you need to work too,” cafe staff member – and magazine editor – Tomu Inokawa tells Vice. “Everyone’s working on something different, but the goal is the same – to meet your deadline”
“I don’t know what kind of work might be born,” says Kawai, “but I’m proud to be able to offer my support so that things written here can be published to the whole world.”
