How procrastinating like a pro can actually make you more creative

Procrastination isn’t always the big bad it’s made out to be — as long as you’re in control.

KARIN CHAN
17 Jan 2025 10:00am
When you put off completing a task, it gives your brain time to mull it over from different angles and ponder its nuances. iStock
When you put off completing a task, it gives your brain time to mull it over from different angles and ponder its nuances. iStock
IT'S not great to procrastinate. We all know that. Procrastinating is only ever a temporary reprieve from an unavoidable task, so all we’re doing is drawing out the dread, accumulating guilt and shrinking our own timelines.

But we procrastinate anyway, because sometimes it’s just too hard to do the thing until deadline panic sets in.

Guess what, though? Procrastination’s not all bad. US researchers found that in moderate doses, procrastination can be beneficial for creative thought.

Organisational psychologist Adam Grant found that an experiment involving groups who were asked to generate new business ideas either immediately or after five or 10 minutes of playing Minesweeper, the moderate group (five minutes) was 16% more creative than the other two.

But how does this work, and how much is too much?

HOW DOES MODERATE PROCRASTINATION HELP?

When you put off completing a task — especially a creative one — it gives your brain time to mull it over from different angles and ponder its nuances. According to Grant, this can result in more inspired ideas and unexpected leaps.

He notes, "It’s only when you’re told that you’re going to be working on this problem, and then you start procrastinating, but the task is still active in the back of your mind, that you start to incubate."

In fact, he said, some of the greatest works of all time were achieved due to procrastination. Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" painting took 16 years, but the process included diversions that made him a better painter. Martin Luther King still hadn’t finalised his speech before he began speaking, leaving him open to the spontaneous inclusion of the inspirational four words: "I have a dream".

Researchers have also speculated that starting a new task — which is what we do when we procrastinate — forces the brain to ‘clear’ memory space, allowing them to gain a fresh perspective when they come back to the first task.

HOW IS MODERATE DEFINED?

There’s no fixed guideline for what constitutes ‘moderate’, but one study defined it as around 25 per cent of the allotted time. Using that metric, if you had an hour to complete a task and spent 15 minutes procrastinating, that would count as ‘moderate’.

However, intention and discipline are also important. When you procrastinate with intention ("I am going to take a break for 15 minutes"), it becomes part of the plan, instead of another problem you must solve and feel guilty for.

That intention must then be followed up with discipline. Extended procrastination erases any creativity benefit that you would have derived; a 15-minute nap reenergises, but a 3-hour snoozefest leaves you more sluggish. Stick to what you said and don’t give in to the temptation of "just one more game/video".

HOW CAN GEN Z PRACTICE MODERATE PROCRASTINATION?

As the generation that grew up with the Internet, Gen Z is said to be especially susceptible to procrastination because of the time they spend on social media, among other things.

While that’s not necessarily true, there’s no denying that Gen Z can also benefit from learning to control procrastination.

One survey on Gen Zs found that they tend to procrastinate either via socialising (going out with friends) or using technology (watching Netflix, scrolling social media), or a combination of both (playing online games with friends).

As such, some suggestions to moderate procrastination tap into both those elements.

For instance, a TODAY contributor in Singapore found that watching "study-with-me" videos helped her focus better via virtual body doubling (doing a task with someone else).

Academicians also recommend students implement common techniques such as the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes’ break), breaking down tasks into bite-sized pieces, or making to-do lists to break the inertia.

In summary: make the task easier to achieve and aim for incremental progression and avoid overly addictive or time-consuming distractions.

WHY DOES MODERATE PROCRASTINATION MATTER?

Despite the creative benefits of moderate procrastination, it does not justify delaying or putting off tasks. However, it does allow for some self-compassion in how we perceive our relationship with procrastination.

Understanding that moderate procrastination can be beneficial for our creativity helps us recognise that we aren’t a failure just because we procrastinate. The key is to manage our procrastination effectively to make it work for us instead of against us.

At the end of the day, as the adage goes, 'everything in moderation' — procrastination included. It’s okay and even encouraged to take some time to complete a task so that you can give yourself space to think.

However, don’t forget: to reap the full benefits in quality and creativity, intention and discipline must be part of the procrastination equation too.

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