Does Procrastination Make Us Better Creatives?

It’s no secret to everyone that time is a currency we can trade for something else.

From an early age, we might have been taught this transaction with pocket money. Mowing the lawn, cleaning the car or walking the neighbour’s dog, many of us happily exchanged a few hours for some coins.

We also know that time can be traded for energy. In fact, we do it every day when we sleep. We also do it when we practice activities that revitalise us, like a hobby, a walk in the forest or even meeting with a good friend. The time we invest transforms into a source of power and we feel better after than before.

These two exchanges are the ones that always quickly come to mind — but there are other currencies we can buy with our time. One of them is creativity — but there is a caveat.

After one of my keynotes, an audience member came to me and told me: “Lison, I understand from your presentation that overthinking can make our thinking worse for problem-solving and creativity — but for me, that’s really not the case”.

That was confronting.