Stopping Procrastination

Most people procrastinate – put off dealing with odious tasks – but, for a select few, procrastination is a major problem, and stopping procrastination has to be their #1 priority.

In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the procrastination problem, the first thing to do would be to define procrastinate so as to determine exactly what is procrastination. The psychology of procrastination is a fascinating area of study, and experts in this field have put forward a definition of the syndrome that says it involves delaying the completion of important tasks in order to waste time on frivolous – but nevertheless enjoyable – less important tasks. A circular link has also been identified between depression and procrastination, and, especially with those who suffer from chronic procrastination, procrastination will lead to depression, which then leads to further procrastination.

As soon as people realize they do indeed need help with procrastination and they need to find out how they can beat procrastination, they can begin their journey towards overcoming procrastination and leading a normal, healthy and highly productive life. In order to find a procrastination solution, however, they should employ a two-pronged approach and both identify and treat the procrastination causes as well as determine how to overcome procrastination.

Curing procrastination may not be as hard as it may seem, however, as in our “go-getter”, highly focused and fast-paced world, those who have a problem with procrastination stand out from the rest as the latter usually reach their goals way before any applicable deadlines. It is, furthermore, simply because procrastinators stand out from the rest that the problem is so easily identifiable, which is why the industry of finding solutions to procrastination is fast becoming a major business.

Those who have set themselves up in the self-help industry as procrastination gurus offer their services in a variety of ways, and sufferers of the dreaded condition should not put off purchasing their copy of the latest “how can I stop procrastinating?” book until tomorrow or the next day. Procrastination tips can also be found in a variety of other places, and magazines and websites often run articles on how to stop wasting time and start focusing on getting the important tasks done. The latest in the fight against procrastination are those software packages that have been specifically developed to combat spending time on the important business of doing nothing. These packages suggest that dividing up one’s day into easily digestible chunks and then allocating specific tasks to each of these chunks is the way to go, and, as these approaches have been fairly successful, they may be right.

Stopping procrastination isn’t easy, but it can be done. I’ll tell you how tomorrow…

Seriously, I was a serial procrastinator until I found The Daily Goal Machine, which is a brilliantly simple program that leverages the programming that is already built into all of our brains and compels you to take action.