by Jeremy Orbell

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 13, 2009

I've never known another time in my life when an air of depression seems to permeate every waking moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm contemplating anything untoward but it's ever more difficult to shake off the gloom and despondency that attaches itself to what we do on a day-to-day basis.

The economic downturn is affecting most of us in one way or another and looks like being around for some considerable time yet. How do we get ourselves out of a rut whether financial, professional or even spiritual? Well, that may depend on your character and how much you want to but many are avoiding the real issues in their lives by looking for quick fixes and escapes which have no real benefit in the long term.

An obvious distractor is this computer. It is an amazing piece of kit but is it just facilitating time-wasting and procrastination from the stuff that really needs dealing with? Maybe you need it for your business but beyond that is it affecting your relationship with your family?

Many I know spend their evenings in separate rooms with their heads in front of screen and not talking to each other. With laptops and the Internet with online forums and social networking such as Facebook and Twitter, fewer and fewer people are engaging in real communication even if they may 'speak' with more people than ever before.

You've seen the games and the quizzes they offer but what benefit do they really have? Are they fun? Maybe but how long does that last? There's always one more to do which leads on to bad habits such as late nights and unhealthy eating and lack of exercise because 'you don't have time' for anything else. It creates a downward spiral that is almost frightening.

What is perhaps more scary is that we can usually recognise these signs and know what has to be done but can't make the first step to put it right. The problem is is that longer we go in this cycle the more lethargic we become so making the change becomes much harder to achieve. I am not immune to this and I see this in myself too but I wanted to just rant for a moment and get this down on 'screen' so we all recognise it.

In preparing this post I was going add URLs to Twitter and Facebook but isn't that just counterproductive? In my view, yes.

However, despite the comments above I've made use of social networking and sites to promote this message to start some debate. In addition I'm looking for ideas for avoiding the patterns I've described and how to look upon these times positively and how they are an opportunity for growth.

Are you a slave to procrastination?

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