Confessions of a Chronic Procrastinator

Confession: I’m a chronic procrastinator. It’s a serious problem.

Sometimes I wish there were meetings I could attend where I could connect with other procrastinators to support each other as we struggle with our incessant need to delay everything. I realize that I’d probably try to find a way to delay that, too, though.

I blame it in part on my background in journalism. Working under pressure and on deadline is like second nature to me, so when I don’t have a deadline lighting a fire under me, I don’t tend to feel any particular need to get things done.

The most infuriating thing about my procrastination is that I wait to do the dumbest things. Instead of taking out the trash the night before, I let the TV suck me in. Instead of getting a jump on the little tasks, I get lost on Twitter, or in a book, or in my own head, for hours. I delay things I know I should just get out of the way for a few more moments of whatever guilty pleasure I’m indulging in at that very moment. (Even as I’m writing this, I’ve been struggling to finish because I keep picking up Bossypants to read “just a couple more pages.”)

Procrastination is the security blanket of adulthood – you feel like your in control of you life & everything feels good. Then you run smack into a wall when a project deadline is flying at you and you have no time to get everything done. You get stressed, you get through it, you convince yourself that you need to relax, which is basically just procrastinating all over again.

It’s really a vicious circle – one I find myself caught in frequently. The best way I’ve found to combat my insane urge to put everything off for just one more minute is my handy-dandy notebook. No, seriously. I have this notebook that I carry literally everywhere with me. It’s home to all of my notes on every project I’m working on, my calendar and any other important information I might need – and it’s all color coded, because I’m just that obsessive about it and it makes it a little easier for me to schedule things when everything is put into a nice, neat, color-coded category.

Do you have a love-hate relationship with procrastinating like I do? How do you control it?