CHAPTER #4 The Procrastination Cure Imagine if you could use a mental exercise to finally defeat procrastination. How different might your life be? Procrastination Isn’t about Laziness It’s ironic, but I’m procrastinating right now as I write this chapter. I’m supposed to be doing research and customization for a speaking engagement I landed with a giant energy company. But instead I’m writing this chapter. It’s not like the motivation isn’t there. They’re paying me $54,425 to deliver three talks in three days. So I should be jumping up and down for joy and eager to dive in. But alas, writing a book on time and productivity is easier and more fun for me than spending a half day poking around Google Scholar, reading dry academic papers, and creating compelling new slides. Besides, I can get to it tomorrow... Procrastination is the habit of putting off important, less pleasurable tasks by doing easier, more pleasurable tasks. Things like email, Twitter, Facebook, food, and TV are excellent ways to procrastinate. In an interview with the American Psychological Association, Joseph Ferrari, PhD, shared some of his research findings: We all put tasks off, but my research has found that 20 percent of U.S. men and women are chronic procrastinators. They delay at home, work, school, and in relationships. These 20 percent make procrastination their way of life...Let’s place the 20 percent in perspective— that’s higher than the number of people diagnosed with clinical depression or phobias, two tendencies many people know about. To beat procrastination once and for all, you have to understand it. You don’t procrastinate because you’re lazy. You procrastinate because: 1. You lack enough motivation, and/or 2. You underestimate the power of present emotions versus future emotions when you set your goals or make your task list.