Procrastination and Laziness are NOT the Same Thing
When it comes to getting things done, there are three types of people:
People who take action quickly
People who wait until the last minute
People who put in minimal effort
People who take action quickly are proactive - Proactive people happily work through their to-do lists and knock things off with a fervor and frenzy that can make you dizzy. Their comfort zone is having a long list of crossed off items.
Proactive people see the value of getting in and getting things done as quickly as possible. Even distasteful things or things that scare them. For them, taking action prevents them from feeling worried or anxious about the future.
People who wait until the last minute are procrastinators - Procrastinators prefer to put things off until they are under a serious time crunch. Some even feel they work better with the added pressure of less time.
Procrastinators tend to avoid tasks, even ones they want to do, for a variety of reasons. While proactive people eliminate worry by taking care of tasks quickly, procrastinators tend to cause themselves worry because they are fully aware that they are not taking action and putting things off.
People who put in minimal effort tend to be lazy - Laziness is characterized by a lack of concern or interest is a task. Lazy people tend to invest very little time or effort into tasks and activities and don’t feel badly about it. Lazy people tend to defend their positions and use blame to deflect accountability.
Differences Between Procrastination and Laziness
Many people think procrastination and laziness are the same thing. They aren’t.
Lazy people often procrastinate, but they don’t feel guilt, shame, or anxiety when they do. This is a big differentiation. While truly lazy people do procrastinate, chronic procrastinators aren’t always truly lazy. Here’s why-
Laziness is focused on doing the least amount possible or avoiding tasks altogether. Procrastination is focused on putting things off and then exerting massive amounts of energy trying to achieve a good outcome.
Laziness is more about getting out of doing something while procrastination often includes overthinking about a task which leads to analysis paralysis. The desire to do more is actually driving putting the task off.
If you’ve struggled with procrastination, you may have felt lazy but if you also felt guilty for not taking action sooner, stressed because things aren’t getting done, and overwhelmed because you know you have tasks that need attention, you are not being lazy.
