Procrastination—Not a vice, not a boon either.

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Procrastinationis one of the dramatic catalysts that work its way through to the development of plot in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The postponement of action drew Hamlet from normal struggles to madness. Of course, it adds to the drama. However, procrastination is no good a prop in a writer’s arsenal. His characters, of course can exhibit this as a favourable character flaw. But he himself should be kept away from this character trait.

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Procrastination, evidently, is not a character trait at all; however, for the use of a better word, we can use the phrase--‘character trait’. Whatever the reason is, when someone decides today’s job to be done tomorrow, he or she is procrastinating the work. It mainly results from the blind confidence of a tomorrow that is at the same time favourable and secured, as imagined by the writer. Here, it is good to remember John 9:4, “One must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work.” This passage directly floods the concept of a secured and assured tomorrow with uncertainty and a certain sense of unpredictability.

Although, in every writing programme, this trait (procrastination) is the most degraded of all, the writer in practice of his craft, at least, occasionally finds procrastination resulting in favourable and creative results.  For example, certain stories or poems, when kept for some time without being penned down, yields new ideas that can make the piece of work better than how it was initially conceived.

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But if you are a writer, looking forward to a professional career and still you keep pushing your assignments and stories for a farther date then you are doing real harm to yourself. Here, procrastination can bring doom. The only major difference between a professionally successful writer and an amateur is that the professionally successful writer finds ways to meet his deadlines and an amateur finds ways to postpone a deadline. Talent doesn’t make you everything. So read the rest later, finish the day’s work, now.