First, read (any or all of) the following sites:
Paul Graham’s Good and Bad Procrastination
Structured Procrastination
Procrastination and Perfectionism
Okay. So, you’ve probably “wasted” a good 15 to 20 minutes of your time but by “wasting” your time reading those 3 articles, you’ve learned about procrastination. Which, by the way, was what you just did.
I procrastinate by spending a lot of time reading about technology, hanging out in the Ubuntu IRC, making something work in Linux, writing random applications, learning some random framework I read about in Wikipedia 5 minutes ago or pretty much exploring my system instead of studying for that next exam, actually doing that homework or advanced reading on the subjects.
It’s done me a lot of good so far. Sure, my school performance wasn’t really the best around (I get by) but on the side, I’ve learned about 101 things more practical than school-based theory. Sure, I may not be an *expert* in these things but at least I know these things exist and later on it gives me a wider perspective and eventually reveals a lot of possibilities. Possibilities such as Linux and FOSS.
As a friend (and co-procrastinator) put it: “[P]rocrastination taught me Linux. [...] I’d make that a facebook status, but I’d rather not tell that to my employer XD” — thus I did not name him in this post. His employer might find out.
Every hour spent on a craft is an hour closer to the magic 10,000 hours mark whether through procrastination or deliberate practice. It’s an hour closer for being a master.
I bet the experts were probably as much as a procrastinator/crammer/slack off as your average person. It’s what they do as an “excuse” from doing what they’re supposed to do that sets them apart.