Page 28 - Seniorstoday January 2023 Issue

Alaimentary
Pause and Pursue
Procrastination is a much maligned attribute that I would not consider
undesirable, contrary to the world view, writes Nagesh Alai
Procrastination is a much maligned
attribute that I would not consider
undesirable, contrary to the world view.
It basically means putting off something
intentionally or habitually. I would say
that “intentionally” intrinsically is driven
by some rationale and “habitually” is a
consistency of behaviour brought about
by ‘decision and action’ based on that
rationale. The entrenched negativism
towards procrastination could be probably
to do with the relative time frames of
different people in decision and action,
whether in personal or professional lives.
It is but natural for a person of speed to
think poorly of a person of pause. The
effect of either’s behaviour can only be felt
in the future and the success or failure of
either lead to either encomiums or censure
of the procrastination which in turn makes
it a virtue or a vice in peoples’ eyes.
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I should confess that this attribute of
procrastination is quite entrenched in
me, but I would also say that I have had
happier effects than unhappier ones
as a result of this attribute, both on the
professional and personal front. Unfazed
by the inevitable pressure of deadlines
for any decision and action, the quality of
the final product and the beneficence of
the execution has been far superior than
I could have probably imagined. In very
many cases of my speed of action, I have
had to regret and rue. Pause is indeed
welcome rather than speed.
To bring it alive, let me share a few
experiences. During my growing up
financially independent days in the
1980s, there was a galore of investment
options and schemes. I was excited,
unthinkingly I should say in hindsight, by
the teak plantation and holiday timeshare