Do you find yourself procrastinating over tasks?

Have you ever found yourself writing to do list after to do list of all the things you should be doing that day, in work? Or put off your sales calls for the next day as you "really must" get this report out by next week and if you don't do it today you never will? Or put off a difficult conversation with somebody, and gone to get a coffee instead?

You are procrastinating. Procrastination is defined as the 'deferment of actions to a later time'. Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators (Hara Estroff Marano, 2008). It is also one of the biggest time wasters there are. Procrastinators are actually putting obstacles in their way. Life has enough obstacles for you to navigate around, without adding your own.

So why do we do it and is it all bad?

Dr Ferarri believes that people procrastinate for different reasons.

(i) Thrill seekers - they leave things until the last minute for the euphoric rush

(ii) Avoiders - those people who avoid a task because of fear of failure or even fear of success. Either way these people care what other people think. They would rather been seen as not putting the energy into a task than filing at it.

(iii) Decisional procrastinators -the procrastinate about making a decision, if they don't make a decision, they wont have to take responsibility for it's outcome.

Procrastination isn't all bad. If you are procrastinating and doing nothing (i.e. sitting staring at a blank screen) or a doing something less important (such as checking emails for the 10th time that hour), then yes, it is a problem and can hold you back from success. With an increasingly competitive employment market, my advice would be to acknowledge your procrastination and do something about it. However if you are procrastinating and doing something more important (think of the "absent-minded professor" who forgets to eat and shave because he is so keen to get to work on his research) then that is not so much of a problem.

How do you get over procrastination?

Procrastination is a learned behaviour, so if it can be learned, it can be unlearned.

(i) Firstly decide whether it is a negative form of procrastination. Ask yourself 'is this the best thing I can be working on?' If not, change your focus

(ii) Work out how and why you procrastinate. Is it every time you need to make a sales call, or is it when you are stressed? Once you have identified when you procrastinate, then you can overcome it.

(iii) Create a productive environment. Turn off your emails, or move somewhere where you don't have internet access. WARNING: chronic procrastinators, may take this too far and tidy your desk for the whole day......that is not creating a productive environment.

(iv) Challenge your believes. Do you have the belief that you work better under pressure? There are plenty of ways to work under pressure without leaving your work until the night before it is due to be completed.

(v) Ask for help. Hold yourself accountable and make it so that you cannot fail, talk to friends, family or colleagues and ask for their help. If you don't want to talk to them, get a coach. They will hold you accountable.

Control your procrastination today and watch your success increase!