Procrastination is not noisy. It does not bang on the table, does not object, does not argue. It just gently nods to all change plans, and then skillfully pushes everything to a more reasonable time. Sounds very responsible, knows how to think far and especially is very difficult to make mistakes. A media worker once made a whole plan to "transform herself": Wake up early, exercise, learn new skills, read books every day. The plan is as beautiful as a project sent to a big customer. He started by choosing a really fancy notebook to record the journey of change. Then he chose a suitable app to track progress. Then found a video to guide the optimal method. When everything was ready, he decided: "Start the next Monday to have momentum". Then every week there was a "the next Monday".
An office worker always talks about quitting her job to pursue her passion. After each meeting, she sighs: "I can't live like this forever". But when asked "when will I quit?", she has a list of very reasonable reasons: Waiting for enough money, waiting for a better time, waiting for the market to stabilize, waiting for myself to be ready. And that "ready" day, no one knows when it will come.
The irony is that procrastinators are often not lazy people. On the contrary, they think a lot about changing. They read books, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and even inspire others. They live in the feeling that they are progressing, even though in reality they are still standing still. It is a form of "motor illusion", like sitting in a massage chair but thinking you are running a marathon.
Psychologically, procrastination usually does not come from lack of time, but from fear of not doing well, fear of failure, fear of facing a version of themselves that is not perfect. So they choose procrastination, because it allows them to maintain a belief that they can do it, just haven't done it yet. Perhaps, the most difficult thing is not to change. But to stop using excuses to not change. And sometimes, the quickest way to start is not to wait for a perfect time, but to do a small thing right now, before the brain has time to think of another reasonable reason for tomorrow.
