How to No Longer Be a Victim of Procrastination

by Lester Rennard

When I was a student in high school, I had a teacher whose favorite speech to us was, "procrastination is the thief of time; do not put off for tomorrow what you can do today". Many years later, today, I can almost hear her voice repeating those words. Strangely enough, I have forgotten who the teacher was, but yet can recall the words and even hear her voice in my head.

Why do so many of us choose to procrastinate and avoid doing the very things that are necessary to ensure our success in life? How does one break free from the shackles of procrastination in order to find freedom in doing now what needs to be done?

We procrastinate when we are not sure about ourselves, feel unprepared for the task at hand and do not feel fully equipped or empowered. A person who is a perfectionist and is idealistic can be the personification of gross procrastination. Such a person is always looking for the perfect timing, setting, circumstances, opportunities, knowledge, experience and method to do and accomplish what needs to be done now. Still others procrastinate because they find the task to be done not as pleasant as they would like it to be.

The truth is that if one is to experience any degree of success in life, he or she must learn how to have mastery over procrastination. When it becomes an automatic response to put off things until tomorrow, one must consciously question the reason for the need to procrastinate. Why will it be better tomorrow than today? What advantage will you have tomorrow that is not available today? What guarantee do you have that you will be around and available tomorrow to accomplish the task?

If the answers do not provide any benefits for postponing the task, it is imperative to break the habit of procrastination by doing it now. It is also important and necessary to consider that there is no perfect timing, circumstances, knowledge or conditions that govern when a task is accomplished. Since no one is perfect, there is no such thing as the perfect timing for which to wait.

When a task is to be accomplished, one is only expected to have the appropriate knowledge, experience, methodology, tools and opportunity to accomplish it. No one truly expects perfection. It is only required that it be done well according to ones best efforts and that it provides the benefits expected of the task.

So how does one break free from being a victim of procrastination. The answer: whatever you determine to do, if there is merit and you have the required preparation, experience and tools to do the job, do not put it off for tomorrow. Do It NOW!