Still Procrastinating

Procrastination is like stopping a train that left the station: when we procrastinate, we hold others up. We are telling the conductor, “Stop here, stop where I want you to stop” or even “I will get on that train when I want to get on that train.” Eliminating procrastination from our lives is like trying to stop a moving train; it’s not easy.

There are things that have to be done, and they need to be done now.

Keep a to-do list. Include urgent and not-so-urgent tasks, and be sure to update this list often. Carry the list with you, along with a pen—this way you can add or delete tasks as you go along.
• Allocate time. All jobs have “crunch periods” when certain things must get done. Recognize them and give yourself enough time each day, each week, and each month to work on pressing issues.
• Set and respect deadlines. Are your deadlines realistic and obtainable? Create an action plan, and stick to it.

Recognize the differences between tasks you must do and those you want to do. Ask yourself a series of simple, direct questions and answer them honestly. What worked last year to help the company? What will work this year to advance the company? Write down your answers; don’t rely on your memory. Keep a master plan. Separate the to-do list into “Will do in 2012” and “Will not do in 2012.”

How to Step Up Your Game at Work

What else can you do to avoid

For example, making transitions from one situation to another is a challenge for people with ADHD. They have difficulty in shifting focus; this tendency is called being hyper-focused. I read about a simple technique that might help (see ADHD CoachBlog, www.additudemag.com). The author mentioned that at times, it is hard for her to get off the couch and go to bed late at night when she is tired. She focuses on the TV shows, even though she would rather go to bed and get a good night’s sleep. Turning off the TV, sitting up, getting off the couch, and then walking up fourteen steps to the bedroom is a major challenge.

Look at what the literature on ADD and ADHD suggests that works to keep such persons focused so they may complete tasks. Clearly, more clinical research is needed on the relation between procrastination and ADD and AD

he link does exist between attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity and frequent, chronic procrastination (Ferrari and Sander 2006). It exists, however, only for people diagnosed with ADHD. Like obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD combines two separate diagnoses that often go together.

Your procrastination is hindering your happiness in a number of ways. Get started, so that you can enjoy

, choosing disappointment in life, rejecting the help of others when it’s needed, feeling guilty after unexpected positive events occur, rejecting participation in pleasurable situations, criticizing others and circumstances when failure occurs, rejecting others when positive events happen, and excessive self-sacrificing for others.
One wonders how en