Too Early
Most of us are familiar with the perils of procrastination. Whether we've missed deadlines, lost out on opportunities, or just had to pull a frantic all-nighter or two, we know the consequences of putting off a large or unpleasant task.
But what about precrastination? Isn't it a good thing to get a good early start on a major project?
Precrastination can be considered too much of a good thing. It's starting so early that you miss out on possibilities that would've presented themselves in due time. For instance, if you start on a project before you have all the directions, you may discover that you've "reinvented the wheel," or worse, have to take out work that went in the wrong direction. Or you can up making work for yourself -- for instance, if you're to pick up two buckets, one close to you and one at the end of the hallway and to bring both of them to your starting point, you may automatically pick up the first bucket when you pass it, so you end up carrying it twice as far as you needed to.
The worst kind of precrastination can actually interfere with getting things done, especially if it involves starting before you've gotten all the tools or skills you need to successfully complete the project.
Some precrastination seems to involve wanting to get part of a task done and off your mind, even if it would've been optimal to wait to do it later in the process. This makes me think of this week's Odd Prompts writing challenge, about the consequences of cognitive offloading. I'd found the prompt interesting, because it suggested that cognitive offloading could be a bad thing, although people are often told to use it to conserve their mental bandwidth, frex, writing a list of things that need to be done, or things that need to be taken, or anything else that might take up headspace you need for another demanding activity.
But what about precrastination? Isn't it a good thing to get a good early start on a major project?
Precrastination can be considered too much of a good thing. It's starting so early that you miss out on possibilities that would've presented themselves in due time. For instance, if you start on a project before you have all the directions, you may discover that you've "reinvented the wheel," or worse, have to take out work that went in the wrong direction. Or you can up making work for yourself -- for instance, if you're to pick up two buckets, one close to you and one at the end of the hallway and to bring both of them to your starting point, you may automatically pick up the first bucket when you pass it, so you end up carrying it twice as far as you needed to.
The worst kind of precrastination can actually interfere with getting things done, especially if it involves starting before you've gotten all the tools or skills you need to successfully complete the project.
Some precrastination seems to involve wanting to get part of a task done and off your mind, even if it would've been optimal to wait to do it later in the process. This makes me think of this week's Odd Prompts writing challenge, about the consequences of cognitive offloading. I'd found the prompt interesting, because it suggested that cognitive offloading could be a bad thing, although people are often told to use it to conserve their mental bandwidth, frex, writing a list of things that need to be done, or things that need to be taken, or anything else that might take up headspace you need for another demanding activity.