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As simplistic as it sounds, I believe the best way to deal with procrastination is to DO IT NOW! We have many choices in life. We can spend a lot of time thinking about doing something, or we can literally take the plunge. We can also change some habits that are crippling our ability to move forward. I decided to make changes in my habits after missing an important meeting because the notice had fallen to the bottom of my pile of unopened mail. It is hard to believe I am the same person today as I was then. Now, when mail comes, I open it immediately, make a decision yea or nay and act on it the same day it is received. Procrastination can literally ruin lives.

An example ot tthis is an assignment that is due, whether in high school or college. Maybe you have been given two months to write a term paper. That paper is an integral part of your final grade, but you have been neglecting to write it. All of a sudden, you have two weeks in which to write it, and you haven't completed the research. Add to that the fact that you have a cold. You write the paper under extreme pressure, and the A you needed to pull up your grade point average has turned into a B-. Unfortunately, this has all occurred because of that blasted word - Procrastination.

As a returning college student, I was having trouble keeping up with my children's schedules, my college one, volunteer work, and the schedule of events my husband and I were involved with. Could this new way of looking at life make me more responsible and less careless meeting a deadline for a term paper or studying for a test? When I thought about the time I was wasting on the phone or watching television, I realized I was probably wasting a few hours most evenings that I could spend on my college work. Also, I was able to stop thinking about making time for college work, and actually do the assignments immediately. I realized that I was putting needless stress on myself by doing last-minute work.

One of the problems with procrastination is that it can cripple your creativity. After a while, it becomes an obsession. You convince yourself that you have too much to do to begin that assignment, write that letter, or finish a major project. I would like to say that I never procrastinate, but that would be a lie. Sometimes, I can't motivate myself to do things ahead of time. At those times, I let a couple of days lapse while I think about the project to be done. After all, one can't operate like a machine. Sometimes, our feelings enter the picture, and we are not ready to tackle the job immediately. A good example of this was memorizing my lines for a play I acted in oni Saturday evening, May 9th. Although I had acted before, it took me longer this time to memorize my lines, because I let other things get in the way.On May 6th, I realized I had three days to finish memorizing my lines and for staging. The pressure was unbearable, but I was ready to go on stage with confidence by May 8th. Was procrastination involved? Absolutely! Did it put pressure on me? Of course. Will I learn from it? Only time will tell.

Learn more about this author, Judith Schnee.
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