Do You Want To Cure Procrastination Problems?

The greatest thief of time is procrastination; it steals away the time you need for important things and in return gives you time that you don't really enjoy because you know you should be doing something else.

I am a procrastinator, and like most procrastinators, I had excuses, such as, "I work better under pressure."  Of course, I really did believe this for a while, but it simply isn't true.  Most of us work better when we have time to take time and do a job correctly - and that may mean time to redo.

I've left the excuses behind, but I still have to fight an almost daily battle against procrastination in many areas of my life (not work, thank goodness!).

Here are some coping strategies:

• If you procrastinate about cleaning, try to reduce clutter and clean as you go; never put dishes in the sink, they go straight to the dishwasher, clothes go straight into the hamper, or even into the washer, magazines go into the trash right after you've finished reading (or clipping, if you do that).

• If you procrastinate about bill-paying, do it online.  I used to dread those monthly sessions, opening bills packed full of advertising that filled a trash can, writing checks, addressing envelopes, and making sure I had stamps.  Save time and pay bills online by either going to each site individually and paying (my preferred method for credit card payments) and paying utilities online through your checking account.  The time saved is considerable, plus if you go paper-free, you save a mountain of trees in paper!

• Do you procrastinate at work?  Get a work buddy if possible and keep tabs on each other about finishing work.  If your work is solitary, look at what is interfering - do you spend too much time talking and visiting, flirting with the cute guy in Accounting, planning lunch, or doing personal business (or games) online? Either go in early and do work before others get there or stay to yourself. Plan tomorrow's lunch the afternoon before after you've done your tasks for the day. If you do personal business online, remember that with most companies or institutions, nothing that you do on your office computer is actually personal; it can all be traced.  If you have games on your computer, have them taken off!

Just changing one of these can get you started on a more disciplined path that can result in actually having more time to have fun!