Stop putting things off

Do you find yourself waiting until the last minute to finish a critical document? Do you schedule and announce meetings just in the nick of time? Do you take work home at the weekends, every weekend?

If so, procrastination may be sneaking into your life, stealing valuable time and eroding your productivity.

Seductive rewards
Most of us stall to varying degrees because procrastination is so seductive: Short-term positive rewards come from putting things off. When you have too many things to do, deciding not to do any of them can reduce your immediate tension and stress. If you are lucky, maybe they will go away or someone else will do them.

Procrastinating can also be exciting: It causes crises and the adrenalin rush that goes along with them. You are pitting yourself against the odds, and gambling that not only will you win out over stress, fear, hunger and fatigue, but that the post will arrive on time, the copier will not break, the other person is not off sick and the tyre will not go flat as you race to your meeting. When you make it, you probably feel high and slightly euphoric. These are intense feelings, much more so than the quiet, calm satisfaction produced when the project is completed early.

Waiting until the last minute to start a difficult task can also be used as a defence for poor performance. You can always claim that it would have been better had there been more time.