If I am given a task, which I am not able to accomplish, then I will procrastinate. I was once asked to adjust a carburetor on a friend's car. This happens often because I know a little about working on cars. Carburetor adjusting was one task, which I did not know how to do, so I put it off for months until the car was taken to a professional mechanic in town. I procrastinated so that I didn't have to admit my ignorance about carburetors. I just waited until the problem passed on to someone else. Some people would admit to not knowing, but I find that this tends to diminish my ego. I prefer to procrastinate. This makes others believe I was extremely busy with other important things to do, and that if I had time I would have gladly done it. Often when I put things off due to inability, I will watch whoever performs the task, so that I will be able to do it the next time.
Another reason I put things off is confusion. If, for some reason, I just don't understand the instructions, then I will put off the task for as long as possible, or until I figure it out in my head. I was working in Richlands one night, when my boss asked me to cut some wires flush. I did not know what he meant by flush, so I did everything else first and then I studied the connection to be made by the wires. I figured out that the wires needed to be cut straight across not slanted. Obviously, this was what was meant by flush.
The single biggest reason I put things off is convenience. I won't do anything today that I can do tomorrow. I enjoy free time so much that I like to use all of it up as I get it. This provides me with an excuse when I am told to do something I find unpleasant. I will pretend that I had just started doing one of the previously procrastinated jobs. This is when that particular job becomes convenient. While living at home, my mother would often ask me to mow the yard. I would then tell her that I had just started cleaning my room. Usually, this induced enough of a shock to her system, that she wouldn't question the validity of my reply. All I needed to do then was straighten up a little to give the appearance of an attempt to clean.
I believe that if everyone put everything off, then the world would not be as hostile as it is today. I enjoy procrastination and I have turned it into a way of life.