7 Sweet Benefits of Procrastination (yep, it’s not all bad)
I want to clear the air and debunk some myths in this post — after all, I do love a little disruption. So here it is: it’s okay to put things off.
Because there are some pretty sweet and exciting benefits to procrastination. With the right intention (and a little finesse), procrastination can be leveraged as a tool for better and even more productivity.
It’s sort of a productivity paradox — and I’m set on untwisting it.
Because sometimes, putting things off is just what we need to do more, more effectively.
This is why I’ve learned to embrace my procrastination and use it to my advantage. I hope this can be a springboard to more guilt-free, intentional procrastination.
Because you’re not broken and you don’t need to check off every box or reach every goal.
These are the shareworthy perks about procrastination that you really must know.
1. It Supports Balanced Carefreeness
Productivity doesn’t need to be so serious all the time. It’s a slippery slope to hyper-hustle culture and feeling stressed out just because you did the very human thing of falling behind and not “crushing it” on any given day.
The right amount of procrastination supports balance. And this is good.
Procrastination, done right, embrace a more relaxed mentality that’s built on sustainability, long-term thinking and is journey-focused.
In my opinion, when it comes to personal projects, productivity should be fun — close to a flow state. This is a strong hint about personal alignment with whatever you’re working on.
So let this be your permission slip to let go of productivity perfection and relax. Embrace a more chill mindset.
2. Ideas Can Marinate
Hurrying to finish something cheapens its quality, not to mention the enjoyment of the task at hand.
For example, in 2023 I did a song-a-day challenge. Everyday, I wrote a song and shared it online for a year straight.
It was an awesome journey and I learned a lot (especially creative discipline). But there was a surprising downside I didn’t expect:
I found myself constantly rushing the creative process, and the quality of a lot of my songs suffered for it.
It was a form of precrastination — focusing on a completing a task as quickly as possible (for me, a daily song requirement); this often comes with the cost of lower quality and extra energy.
There’s definitely a time to push through and finish things that need to be done (especially if you’re stuck overthinking something). But there’s also a time to delay and take things slow.
It’s this patience that can turn procrastination into a powerful positive.
So go ahead and give yourself some more time. Let ideas marinate a little longer, do some self-reflection and reevaluate stuff.
IMO, this is intentional productive procrastination.
Done right, it boosts your decision-making, creativity and project quality.
3. Peace Out, Toxic Productivity
Toxic productivity is the unhealthy pursuit of excessive productivity. And I think productivity can be a sneaky slippery slope into toxic habits.
Distraction is an epidemic and focus is an art.
Shiny objects and on-demand everything snowball into procrastination and feelings of guilt. And so, given the extreme, the knee-jerk reaction is excessive, strong productivity.
This is a surefire remedy to fix the overindulgent status quo — right?
Toxic productivity is no better that toxic procrastination. Both exist on the extreme ends of something that should be balanced.
And that’s where smart procrastination comes into play.
When balanced right, putting things off can be a great way to have your cake and eat it too.
Because it’s important to make progress on your goals, but it’s also important to enjoy life, indulge a little and stay balanced.
This is how you capture productive procrastination. Because you don’t want to go too far in any one direction. Occasionally, a good course correction is needed.
4. Hack Your Motivation
“Nothing makes you more productive than the last minute.”
While not always the best strategy, waiting until the last minute can create massive bursts of productivity and action-taking.
As you know, motivation doesn’t last and can be quite the fickle beast. So procrastination can be a great hack for short bursts of intense productivity.
And I think we’ve been there too. You know how it goes…
You have an important project or deadline to meet, and since we like to truly put the pro in procrastination, we end up expertly pushing it off and waiting until the last minute to do the dang thing.
Enter hyper-focused-marathon mode. Intense motivation and action-taking live here.
And yet, despite giving yourself limited time, you always finish. While the quality is sometimes less, you still make it happen. This is thanks to Parkinson’s Law, which says that for any given task, it will take exactly the amount of time you give it to complete.
To put it another way, if you give yourself a week to do something, it’ll take you a week. But if you give yourself a day — it’ll take you a day to do.
So the next time you find yourself chronically putting something off, set a hard deadline (to take advantage of Parkinson’s Law) and embrace the intense motivation you get from the last minute.
5. It Can Lessen Burnout
Burnout happens — especially after intense, hyper-focused stretches of deep work.
Throw on feelings of slow (or no) progress with little traction, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for overwhelm and defeat.
Burnout leads to negative procrastination (with exhaustion or frustration as its source). But leveraging procrastination before burnout kicks in is the real secret sauce.
This starts with first recognizing the signs of burnout (before they get out of hand). Then, give yourself permission to put things off and take a dang break.
Here are some signs of burnout to watch out for:
Feeling chronically exhausted
Experiencing pessimism
Feeling depressed or ennui
Hating your work
Feeling on-edge or easily irritated
A wandering mind
Physical symptoms (like headaches)
Trouble sleeping
6. Uncover Your True Passions
Chronic procrastination can be a hint that what you’re doing (or rather, not doing) is something you don’t actually enjoy or want to do.
If you find yourself constantly putting something off, it could mean that you don’t totally enjoy it or value it.
Sometimes, things you used to love may became boring. And stuff you genuinely enjoy doing can lose their luster when you try to put it into a formal box (like turning your passion into a business).
This is normal and could be a sign to pivot.
“Over-procrastination could be a clue that you should try something else you’re more jazzed about.”
Of course, there are definitely other causes for chronic procrastination (like perfectionism, feelings of overwhelm or life anxiety). But sometimes, the answer is simpler — you don’t actually enjoy the thing you keep putting off.
In these situations, some healthy intentional procrastination can be a good thing. The trick is to add intention to your procrastination by doing some strategic rabbit holing.
Exploring new ideas and niches can lead to new passions, insights and motivations.
7. Boost Your Creativity
Procrastination can make you more creative. This is probably one of favorite benefits of procrastination. 🕺
Creativity is one of my core values. I’m a musician, artist and blogger. And building Tomorrowist has been nothing more than one great creative act.
But during this whole process, I’ve dealt with plenty of procrastinating moments. Luckily, I learned to leverage those moments to boost my creativity.
Here’s why putting things off can actually boost your artsy side:
Encourages divergent thinking
Less pressure to complete a task
Encourages fun and a play mindset
More time to think can lead to unexpected breakthroughs
More happy accidents — like a random rabbit hole leading to a new idea
Just keep in mind that moderate procrastination is the key — not too much, but not too little.
Later ✌️
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