Are you a procrastinator or an incubator - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Are you a procrastinator or an incubator - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My good buddy Robert Biswas-Diener, AKA the Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology, tells this story in an article on cnn.com, that fits in perfectly with my post from yesterday about the rules of productivity of knowledge workers: Mark had only a handful of days to write applications for internships, turn in final papers and secure letters of recommendation and had fallen into a deep funk. Not only was there no progress, but he had frittered away hours in meaningless pastimes like downloading music and walking in the park. Mark uttered the all-too-familiar phrase, I am such a procrastinator! My instincts told me that it was not a lifetime of chronic procrastination that led Mark to his current situation. On a hunch, I asked him a crucial question, When you get around to completing your work and we both know that you eventually will how will the quality be? My client seemed taken aback by the question. He answered with confidence, a single word: Superior! I realized, in that moment, that there may be a subtle but important difference between the back burner mentality I saw in my client and the traditional way a procrastinator works. What Mark presented was something qualitatively different: a clear sense of deadlines, confidence that the work would be complete on time, certainty that the work would be of superior quality and the ability to subconsciously process important ideas while doing other often recreational activities. I realized I was looking at a strength, one I called incubator. When I shared this term with Mark, he felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. Robert goes on to explain the key differences between procrastinators and incubators based on a study he did of 184 students. Theres even a test you can take to figure out if youre an incubator or a regular old procrastinator. Also, check out Roberts web site for a lot more great stuff on positive psychology and using your strengths. Go read the whole article it rocks! Related posts: Top 5 new rules of productivity for knowledge workers. How to procrastinate effectively. The Seven-Day Weekend. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related