Is It Really Procrastination?

“AI didn’t replace the photographer. It removed the friction.” GM

When I began creating this website, one of the first jobs seemed obvious. Book a professional photo shoot. After all, if you’re creating an author website, that’s what you’re supposed to do, isn’t it?

But as I thought it through, I noticed something. A photo shoot wasn’t just one task. It came attached to a growing list of conditions.

I’d recently returned from a wonderful two-week cruise with my husband. Like most people on holiday, I’d thoroughly enjoyed the restaurants, desserts and leisurely breakfasts. I smiled to myself and thought,

“I’ll get back into my routine first.”

Then there was my adorable little Havapoo, Mr Darcy. He’s my shadow and such a big part of my world that I wanted to introduce him to you, the reader. If we were going to have photographs together, I’d want him looking his best too. That meant booking him into the groomers at just the right time.

Then there were outfits.

The weather.

Finding a date that suited everyone.

None of these were unreasonable. In fact, every one of them made perfect sense. Individually, they were tiny considerations. Collectively, they created friction.

The website hadn’t stopped. But I could see where it might. Then, wearing my Life Coach hat, I changed the question. I paused. Not because I was procrastinating. I wasn’t. But I recognised something familiar. The early signs of friction.

Over the years, both in my own life and as a Life Coach, I’ve noticed that procrastination rarely arrives all at once. It often begins quietly, with perfectly reasonable conditions. I asked myself a simple question. Is it really procrastination… or something else? Almost immediately, the answer became clearer.

I wasn’t avoiding the project. I was creating a chain of dependencies before allowing myself to begin.

“I’ll settle back into my routine first.”

“Mr Darcy needs a trip to the groomers.”

“Then I’ll organise the photographer.”

Every thought was sensible. None of them were wrong. But together, they had the potential to become a comfortable reason not to keep moving.

That’s when I realised something. Friction isn’t the problem. Left unnoticed, friction can quietly become an excuse. Not overnight. Gradually.

Choosing Progress Over Perfection

Instead of waiting for every condition to align, I decided to experiment. Working with ChatGPT, I created what we came to call a Gold Master portrait. Not a glamorous fantasy. Not an AI version of someone twenty years younger. Quite the opposite. The goal was to preserve identity. The freckles. The natural skin texture. The expression. The warmth in my eyes.

We created the same kind of identity reference for Mr Darcy. Together, those portraits became the visual foundation for my website. Not because AI is better than professional photography. But because it removed enough friction for me to keep the project moving. AI didn’t replace the photographer. It removed the friction.

Why I’m Telling You This

I’m not hiding the fact these images are AI assisted. I’m choosing to tell you. Because the interesting story isn’t that AI created a portrait. The interesting story is what the process revealed.

For me, AI didn’t replace creativity. It simply removed one layer of friction. That was enough. The website continued to move forward.

A Small Lesson Beyond AI

As a qualified Life Coach, I smiled at the irony. For years, I’d encouraged people to question the stories they quietly tell themselves. This time, I turned that same curiosity towards myself. AI didn’t provide the answer. It simply became a mirror while I asked better questions.

It wasn’t saying, “Don’t have professional photographs.”

It was asking, “What could you begin with today?”

That single question changed the direction of the project.

Reflection:

Not every delay is procrastination. Sometimes it’s simply friction. A collection of perfectly reasonable considerations that quietly gather around an idea until beginning starts to feel harder than it needs to.

Friction isn’t the enemy. The danger comes when we stop noticing it. Left unexamined, friction can become delay. Delay can become a comfortable pause. A comfortable pause can become an excuse. And eventually, we may call it procrastination.

The pattern often begins much earlier. The good news is that it can also be interrupted much earlier. Sometimes all it takes is one better question.

Reader Reflection:

Pause for a moment. Think of something you’ve been meaning to begin. Now ask yourself: Is it really procrastination… or something else?

Where’s the friction?

Which parts genuinely matter?

Which parts have quietly become conditions you’ve attached before giving yourself permission to begin?

You don’t have to remove every obstacle. Perhaps removing just one is enough to keep moving.

TRUE. FALSE. PIN IT:

TRUE:

AI helped me create the visual assets for my website.

FALSE:

AI replaced creativity, discernment or human judgement.

PIN IT:

The first explanation isn’t always the truest one. Sometimes what looks like procrastination is simply friction that hasn’t yet been recognised.

Discernment isn’t only about questioning the world around us. Sometimes it’s about questioning the story we’ve quietly started telling ourselves.

Continue the Conversation

This Field Note explores a single question. The book: TRUE • FALSE • PIN IT explores the wider framework behind questions like this - helping us navigate an age where technology, opinion and human judgement increasingly overlap.

The goal isn’t to tell you what to think. It’s to help you become more confident in deciding for yourself.