Procrastination at Five… and Thirty-Five+

My 5-year-old is still getting used to our daily routine. The deal is pretty simple: when he gets home, he has a “first job.” One chore that should take him maybe 30 minutes tops, and then he’s free to go play, build, imagine, run around—whatever he wants.

Today’s job? Cleaning the toys off the office floor. Simple, right? In theory.

In reality, I’ve called him back upstairs four times now. Four. Each time, he drifts away like a leaf in the wind. He’ll get started, pick up a block, and suddenly remember that the stuffed dinosaur needs rescuing. Or he’ll hear a noise from the backyard and decide he needs to investigate. And this last time, when I called him back, he looked at me with the most serious expression and said, “Mom, but I need to pee.”

Now, here’s the thing—I knew exactly what he was doing. Stalling. Procrastinating. Stretching that one simple job out as far as possible. So I told him flat-out, “No, you’re procrastinating.”

"What?" he asked. "You're trying to do other things to get out of doing what you're supposed to do", I answered.

And then I paused.

Because do you know what I was doing at that exact moment? Sitting at my desk, staring at my blog. Telling myself I would take a “quick five-minute break” before getting back to my actual work. That quick break? It happened about fifteen minutes ago.

Which means while I was calling out my 5-year-old for procrastinating, I was literally doing the exact same thing.

The truth is, procrastination doesn’t magically disappear when you grow up. At five, it looks like sneaking away from toy-pickup duty. At thirty-five, it looks like scrolling, blogging, snacking, or “researching” something online that has nothing to do with the task in front of you.

But the big difference? My son has me to call him out on it. To remind him that he needs to finish before he’s free. Me? I don’t have a mom standing behind me, telling me to stop dragging my feet and get back to work.

So, lesson learned: whether you’re five or thirty-five, procrastination looks a lot the same. The only difference is that adults don’t have someone keeping us on track—we’ve got to do that part ourselves.

And now? Time for me to stop writing about procrastination… and actually get back to work. I'll have to work late now to make up for it.

---

You've been procrastinating too, procrastinating by putting yourself last in the busy world of motherhood. Stop procrastinating and do something for yourself. I have exactly what you need: a spa-type-day with a reward at the end - incredible portraits of yourself, whether you think you're hot stuff or whether you'd rather look like you did 10 years ago. I founded Kristian Hutchings Portraits on the premise of making Moms feel amazing about themselves and I've perfected it every session since.

_______________________

Kristian is a mom of six, Program Manager by day, active Professional Photographer by trade, and a big believer in finding beauty in the everyday chaos.

Life in our house is loud, messy and full of literally everything. Love, noise, laundry, laughter, and definitely could use a bit more grace. I'm happily married to my best friend, grounded in my Catholic faith, and fueled by five to six hours of sleep per night and adrenaline.

I try to find joy in the everyday — even when it's wild, because without the little bit of joy, this life would be unbearable. This space is for the moms in the middle of it all: the ones juggling family, faith, work, and wonder. The ones that need someone else's messy life to make their own seem better or somewhat normal. You're not alone, and you're doing better than you think.

Welcome to Six Sweet Smiles — where we celebrate the mess, the miracles, and everything in between.