For Wilshire Baptist Church
Two Sundays ago I happened to be awake at 1:58 a.m. and I stared at the Google clock on the dresser and watched as it jumped from 1:59 to 3:00. I expected that since it was “time change Sunday,” but it was interesting to actually watch a full hour get skipped over.
Of course, earlier in the evening we moved all our manual clocks forward: digital kitchen appliance clocks, antique pendulum clocks, cheap battery clocks, and all the blinking clocks on thermostats, security and sprinkler system control panels. And then we went to bed and in the morning we awoke to the new timeframe that was implemented by some unknown authority in a painless, innocuous way while we slept. Except for that Google clock that illustrated just how coldly and abruptly an hour can be lost forever.
I really shouldn’t be surprised or bothered about losing an hour because I can waste a perfectly good hour in nothing flat. The reality is that wasted time rather than lost time has been a lifelong problem. The most common way I waste time is putting things off, which time management experts call “procrastination.” I’ve read explanations of why people procrastinate: fear of criticism, fear of failure, lack of interest and perfectionism. On the good side of the problem, there’s evidence that putting things off can lead to greater creativity and thinking outside the box as deadline pressure builds. I believe there’s some truth to that, but my own experience also says that procrastination causes stress, doubt, regret and even self-condemnation.
I battled procrastination throughout school as a kid. My memory is full of moments when I put projects off until the last moment and needed my parents to help me — not to do the brain work, but to help me get across the finish line with tasks like gathering supplies or typing papers. I still tend to procrastinate whenever I have a big project, especially if there is a long lead time. I can easily squeeze a two-month project down into two weeks. The output is always good – return business with longtime clients confirms that – but I always beat myself up about it and say I’ll never do that again. But then I do it again.
Ask the internet for Biblical references about procrastination and you get a long list of verses dealing with not dreading things, putting higher value on time, and not being lazy or slothful. I don’t think sloth is really the issue with me, because I tend to fill the time I am not working on something with doing something else that usually has some value. I had an apartment mate in college who would put off studying for a big exam by cleaning the apartment. In that case there was some value to his procrastination. I could say the same thing when I leave a project on the computer and go out to mow the lawn.
Perhaps I should have tried giving up procrastination for Lent this year, but we’re four weeks into the season and I seem to have put that off. And besides, procrastination often is accompanied by rationalization, and I can reason that it’s hard to spring forward with a checklist of ambitious projects when the season asks us to slow down, reflect and be thoughtful.
Maybe the best motivation for breaking the procrastination habit is the Biblical notion of placing a higher value on time, as in, there may not be much time left. One online source quotes Ephesians 5:15: “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time.” And Thessalonians 5:2: “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
In other words, some night I may be staring at the clock and it may just stop completely. That’s pretty good motivation to get going and get on with things while I still have the time.