The Chinese philosopher, Confucius, said: "Do what you love, and you won't work a single day of your life". Nobody likes to work, except for anyone that has decided to do something they really love, believe in, or are good at. Trying to be productive in a job that doesn't interest us is like looking for a way to speed-read through a book. If someone likes to read, why would they want to finish a book as soon as possible? But if we’re talking about just one book in particular, could it be because it isn’t interesting enough? So why keep reading it? It’s extremely hard to avoid putting off doing a job that you don't have a passion for, despite all of the advice that productivity experts have to offer.
Those who find themselves in the position of continually procrastinating when it comes to a certain task should first ask themselves if it is something that they are doing out of genuine passion, or purely because they must do it. When you find yourself responding with the latter, it is better to abandon the goal and focus on something else.
Passion and skill often intersect - in fact, it sometimes happens that a task does not thrill us immediately but which we prove to be particularly skilled at. When this occurs, as Ramit Sethi wrote, the awareness of being very good at a task could in fact lead you to love it. So procrastination could be an immediate sign that you are doing something of no real interest or value to you.
It is normal for someone to have to carry out activities as part of their work that they do not enjoy, or that bores them. For example, a craftsman may love making their products but be less enthusiastic about the process involved in selling them. The important thing, however, is to understand whether the majority of the tasks you do on a daily basis are something you like to do - or are good at - or not. If the answer is no, the only solution to avoid procrastination and its negative effects is to change your work.
Procrastination comes at a cost: stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem are just some of the consequences of living a life revolving around procrastination. Procrastination is a habit that seeps into a person's daily life without them even noticing it and, from a scientific point of view, is likened to a drug or alcohol addiction. For example, who hasn't stopped working for a moment to watch something online only to find themselves hours later still surfing the internet without actually having achieved anything?
