Procrastination Makes Us Selfish, Unreliable and Hypocritical

​“Running out of time” is often a lie wrapped up in an excuse.

Procrastination. What do you put off doing? It is usually the stuff you dislike doing. For me, it’s administrative work. When I worked in the Fortune 50 world, there was always some mundane report that required me to gather information and reformat it for someone else’s benefit. Time spent in spreadsheets, tracking down account numbers, or balancing accounts was the last thing I wanted to do. So, they became the last thing I did.

The problem was, my procrastination meant that I was doing those things at the last second. And, sometimes I did not get them done in time. Therefore, my procrastination created issues for others. This is where the moral obligations of exercising our Duty overlaps with Selflessness.

Duty: Taking action based on our assigned tasks and our moral obligations.

Selflessness: Putting the needs of others before our own needs, desires, or convenience.

Just because I don’t like administrative work or it is due at inconvenient times for me, I still have a moral obligation to complete it - on time and to the best of my abilities. If I am late or do a shoddy job because I put it off until the last minute, that makes someone else’s job more difficult. The opposite of Selflessness is selfishness. And the opposite of Duty is unreliability.

When I procrastinate, my selfishness makes me unreliable. Unfortunately, we often sacrifice our In