Procrastination: A Simple Definition

Procrastination: The Action of Delaying Something

I often tend to procrastinate. It all begins with me feeling that I have too much to do, or that I am just too busy at the moment. I then start to think, "I'll send the newsletter tomorrow," or "If I sleep in today I can do my run at night instead of this morning."  Unfortunately, procrastination always leads me to miss my goals and accomplish mediocre results. For example, I’ll spend barely any time revising my website and it comes out unexceptional. I might make our lesson rundown last minute and forget to pick an end-of-practice competition.

Procrastination has the same effect on pitching. When it’s game time in April and you’re simply “hoping” you’ll get a strike, rather than strategizing the best strike-out sequence, you’ll know that procrastination has taken effect.

Procrastination takes hold of the high school student who uses the excuse, "It was cold out this winter I had  nowhere to pitch. I was waiting for my coaches to organize practice for me."

A 12U pitcher might think that with the busy-ness of her life with other spots, she can wait until the spring to begin practicing again. Unfortunately, that’s not how she can become good pitcher. Instead, she needs to overcome the constant obstacle of procrastination. Mindtools.com suggests, “the first step to overcome this problem is forgiving yourself for procrastinating in the past.” Now is your time to start fresh.

Pitching is a commitment that is worked on year-round, so the off-season is a perfect place to begin!