When’s the last time you did something without procrastinating, even for a minute? With so many distractions in our high-data culture, it can be hard to retain your focus on any one project for long stretches of time. That’s not always a bad thing – some people are simply happier with a lot of different things occupying their attention at the same time. For others, that can be overwhelming – and their productivity suffers accordingly. Odds are good you know which kind of person you are by now.
But that’s beside the point. Whether procrastination is a mood enhancer or a productivity killer for you, it remains a valuable source of information about yourself and your interests. What do you spend your time doing when you’re procrastinating? Are you reading blogs like this one? Are you playing video games? Are you chatting with friends on Facebook or Twitter? Keep tabs on how you spend that time, because the time spent procrastinating is one of the truest tests of what your interests really are. You’re getting paid to do something, and yet you’re choosing to do something else instead – in other words, a direct line on the things that you value more than money. In other words – this is what you ought to be pursuing.
So the next time you find yourself stalling on that big project to leave just one more comment on a stock analysis site or find just one more number in today’s Sudoku, take heed – you’re getting close to your true passions. And once you know what those are, all that remains is to pursue them.
