For many people, procrastination is perceived as being the same as laziness. If you’re not getting things done, if you’re not meeting your commitments, people are quick to generate all manner of unpleasant labels:  sloppy, unreliable, useless, lazy.

But is this fair? Is it even true?

For me, laziness suggests an unwillingness to do anything. When I think of laziness, I think of apathy, inactivity and a lack of energy.

Wait a minute. Procrastination isn’t actually a passive or inactive process at all. It’s, in fact, a very active process. We choose to do something else rather than the thing we should/could/want to be doing. We substitute one activity for the one we are avoiding. So, for most of us, we are not apathetic, inactive or lazy when we are procrastinating.

I would even argue that using terms like laziness will only feed a negative mindset that will make your procrastination habit progressively worse. In our programmes and when coaching clients, I always say that you can’t criticise yourself out of procrastination. Breaking the habit has to begin with an acceptance of a positive outlook, a belief that it is possible for you to replace procrastination with production.

Just because you’re procrastinating on something does not mean you’re lazy.