The Cure for Holiday Procrastination

Are you doing a slow boil because someone is already avoiding holiday chores? The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas represent some of the busiest on the calendar. One person adopting an attitude of “tis the season to procrastinate” means someone else has to pick up the extra work. Here’s a cure for holiday procrastination.

Stress abounds. Joy evaporates. Bickering increases.

Some patiently compile detailed “To Do” lists attempting to lead the lagging soul into the land of productivity. Alas, the procrastinator sidesteps reading the list knowing that ignorance of the work items provides plausible deniability. Shaping the couch cushions for a perfect body-fit and remote control testing fully consume the slacker’s time.

What’s next? Notes posted in key locations? Streaming text or email reminders? Incessant nagging? Withholding certain privileges?

Take a deep breath and ponder the big picture. Will the world come to end if the dangly lights are not hung from the gutter with care? Does the tree have to be trimmed by the end of November to remain on Santa’s Nice List? Probably not.

Does procrastination harm?

Is there really harm in procrastinating?

Charles Spurgeon warned us about the long term effects:

“Life is wasted by driblets…do not fritter away your life thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow.”
Morning and Evening Selected

Holiday task avoidance may be a symptom of a larger issue. Procrastination, like other bad habits, ensnares us in its diabolical trap as it creeps from one area of life to another. Solomon described the devious battle plan followed this enemy:

“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:33-34 NASB

Slowly. Silently. Stealthily. We learn to put off today’s little items in favor of a future time, and the more we practice, the more ably we can delay larger tasks.

The response from a professional-grade procrastinator on receiving a new assignment is often, “I’ll do it when I get a round tuit?” Ah, yes, the elusive round tuit, rarer than an empty storage box in the attic. Harder to hunt down than the proverbial snipe. It may be easier to find a December parking space at the mall than to locate a round tuit.

I decide to make my own round tuit. You can make a personal tuit or share one as a Christmas gift with your favorite deferment expert. If your gift recipient is adept at procrastination you may need a larger size.

I have my tuit. There goes my excuse! Now, where’s that list?