I don't mean to come across as the kind of person you love to hate, but procrastination is not a big problem for me. (I've got other issues. Don't ask.)

I've lived all my life with procrastinators and I've seen the chaos they cause themselves and others by constantly waiting until the last minute on projects they've had days / weeks / months to work on. My first husband used to claim he "worked great under pressure." I called it "management by emergency."

He saw himself as a hero for saving the day and solving a problem. I saw him as a person creating a problem by ignoring little problems until they became big problems. To me ... the wiser choice was to fix something while it was still small, before it blew up and set everyone around him in a panic. But ... he'd say, where's the heroism in that?

Anyway ... I like to have things done early "in case something comes up" at the last minute. That happens more than you ever want to imagine. (Especially considering the company I keep.)

I find lists are extremely helpful when trying to stay on track. When that top priority is staring at me from the top of my list, it's hard to ignore it. And I've also found that anticipating the fearsome or difficult issue is usually worse than the work (or experience) itself.

If I get started on it in any way (for me, it's usually some writing project) ... like jotting down notes, doing research, writing down sentences that come to me, even if they're out of order (that way I don't forget them) ... it will get a rhythm started that creates its own momentum.

Then the problem often becomes to find a stopping place if I'm not done with the work. (I hate to stop myself when I'm on a roll! Sometimes sleep decides when the day ends. When I literally can't get from the start of a sentence to the end without losing my train of thought -- or falling asleep, it's time to call it quits.)

Believe it or not, this brings its own set of problems ... and it takes some practice to make this your routine, but mostly I'd say it's worth it. I've seen too often what the other choice looks like. Thanks, but no thanks.

Just some suggestions from the other side of the table. (smile)

from #theunmentionables