Remarkable procrastination

Sometimes it is wise to do nothing in the middle of a challenge than to react emotionally and physically.

We choose to do nothing about our laid out plan—what most people would have done in our kind of situation. Instead, we decide to let time pass before we take our next line of action.

Often the period of inaction helps us to weigh alternative causes of actions more rationally and realistically. And most times, it occurs to us that our initial plan of action would have been wrong.

If pausing from our default cause of action can save us from making more wrongs, then such is worth practicing. It is what I called remarkable procrastination.

We live in a culture that demands that things be done fast, that encourages rigidity and status quo. Practicing remarkable procrastination in this kind of culture requires that you occasionally move out of the fast pace of life that the culture demands of you, and deliberately pause to analyze a situation.

This takes much to accomplish—but it's achievable. The keys to mastering remarkable procrastination are intelligence, discipline, patience, self-control, independent mindedness, and practice.

This is intelligence: You must know when to pause to evaluate a default move. And this is discipline: to pause when you need to pause. Self-control to shield yourself against anger and lashing out uncontrollably. And patience to pause for as long as possible till the storm passes.

Independent mindedness to find another way-out of a problem. This is key, especially, in situations where communication up and down the chain of command is difficult—where you have no other option than to take action—thus, if you're not independent minded, the mission fails.

And most importantly, practice remarkable procrastination—in various situations—until it becomes part and parcel of you. Then you'll be able to make decisions on complex or unforseen situations within split second and execute them with speed and in your own terms.

Understand that past and future experiences don't count in situations where remarkable procrastination is needed. Instead, what counts is what you see in the present, and you make your bet based on the information you have there and then.

So, this is remarkable procrastination: When you find yourself in an unforeseen situation and you must make immediate decision, first of all pause to look at the situation point blank—as it is—and then make a decision. Execute your plan with speed.