Procrastination is often thought of as a minor inconvenience.
A quirk that we all suffer from where we put things off, despite knowing that we really should get on and do the thing we are putting off.
For many people it can have a profound and destructive effect on their life.
The sad thing is that most sufferers don't realize this until later in life when much of the harm has already been done.
As a serial procrastinator myself, I know this to be true.
I came to this conclusion only recently, while trying to set up a business.
Despite the urgent need to "get things done" I found myself avoiding starting tasks that I knew were important.
Then later feeling bad that I had not completed tasks that were essential if my business were to succeed.
Looking back over my life, I realized that I had procrastinated as far back as school (and later college) by not revising for examinations in good time.
I was actually quite good at exams - unlike some who fell apart with stress - but I never gave myself the best chance of success by revising effectively.
Why had I sabotaged myself in this way? It was only now, many years later that I was finally facing up to that question.
I looked through many books on procrastination, and most seemed to think that the solution lay in better organization or avoiding distractions.
While those techniques can help you work more efficiently, they don't help someone who actually avoids starting work.
Procrastination in my case, was a self-defence mechanism.
I was something of a perfectionist and believed everything I did had to be perfect.
By delaying starting on revision, or not fully committing to a project, I was sabotaging myself.
This gave me the excuse that if I failed the exam or the project failed, it was not my fault.
I could convince myself that had I really tried, then I could have succeeded.
By replacing my negative thoughts about work and its perceived effect on me as a person if things went wrong, I was able to develop a positive inner-voice that allowed me to separate my sense of self-worth from my work.
In so doing, I was able to enjoy working on my business without the fear of failure that prevented me from starting in the first place.
In fact, I found that I was able to get more done in a shorter period of time because I was working in a concentrated manner.
My reward was that I then got to take time off for leisure activities, with a clear mind, free of self-regret that I had let another day go by without achieving much.
Being able to relax without stressing about work rejuvenates the mind and allows you to start afresh the next day.
In further articles I will cover how to combat the underlying issues that cause it and practical techniques that you can use to work more effectively.