TED Talk Tuesday #69 – Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

Watching TED Talks is a popular pastime at CN&CO. We visit TED.com regularly to clear our heads, have a laugh or get inspired. TED Talks open our minds, spark new ways of thinking and can lead to some very interesting conversations. Each week we pick a favourite and publish it on a Tuesday, because we like how “TED Talk Tuesday” sounds. This week’s talk was posted by Lethabo-Thabo Royds. Here’s why she chose it:

Much like my team mates, I LOVE TED Talks. There’s just so much to learn in them and this one is one about procrastination and how the procrastinator’s brain works is one of my favourites. It is presented by Tim Urban who started the blog “Wait But Why”.

I would like to say it appeals to me because I never procrastinate and so I enjoyed the insight into how people end up procrastinating… but that would be untrue. In fact, it appeals to me because so much of what Tim Urban says makes sense to me.

Fortunately, I can say that my panic monster (watch the talk to see what this is) tends to wake up quite soon and she helps me get plenty of things done without too much stress. But, she’s a busy lady who needs her rest and sometimes we do end up rushing around at the last minute.

Urban is also engaging and funny as he presents this TED Talk. As with most good speakers, he uses personal examples and he is obviously passionate about the subject matter. His illustrations are also simply fantastic.

Reasons you should watch this TedTalk:

  • It’s only 14 minutes long (worth it!)
  • It gives you insight into the mind of a procrastinator and the procrastination process
  • It’s both funny and interesting
  • It’s is easy to understand and its fun

I also like Urban’s message: we all procrastinate about some things and we should look more carefully at those things so that we don’t run out of time to do the things we want to do.

Happy watching: