Feeling Overwhelmed?
Procrastination Is The Thief Of Time

Contributed by Sheri Graves

Procrastination is a lifestyle choice. You can choose to do what has to be done when it has to be done whether you want to do it or not. Or, you can choose to procrastinate.

It really is that simple; turning your life around after years of procrastination can be a long, hard road to travel.

That’s because procrastination can be so crippling that it leads to depression, anxiety and a feeling of hopelessness. If other people enable your procrastination by doing things for you that you could and should be doing for yourself, you might develop what therapists call “malignant procrastination,” where things keep piling up and the situation gets worse and worse until it chokes off all initiative and plunges the procrastinator into despair. The end result can be what psychiatrists call “learned helplessness,” a state where you feel so despondent and overwhelmed that you simply cannot function.

Don’t go there. It isn’t even a nice place to visit.

I once felt so overwhelmed; I decided suicide was the only option. I made a list of what to do before that fateful moment.

First, I would clean my house from top to bottom, including walls and ceilings. Second, I would do all of the laundry, fold it and put it away. Third, I would clean out and organize my cupboards and closets. Next, I would clean and organize the garage.

All of these chores were absolutely necessary, lest my mother, and maybe even strangers, find out how I really lived.

Finally, I would lose 30 pounds and buy a stunning new outfit in which to be found.

As I looked at my list, I started to laugh.

“If I get all this stuff done,” I asked myself, “what’s the point of killing myself?”

That was 35 years ago. Developing a sense of humor about your own shortcomings can be lifesaving. There are certain areas of my life where I still procrastinate. But I know now that I can’t let everything go at once.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “A stitch in time saves nine.”

In other words, it’s always easier to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done than it is to procrastinate until the proverbial molehill grows into a mountain of work.

Keep in mind: procrastinators don’t keep their resumes updated and aren’t prepared to land on their feet when the pink slip arrives. Procrastinators don’t get offered opportunities for career advancement. Procrastinators don’t get the big bucks.

If you’ve identified yourself as a procrastinator, there are two things you should do immediately:

• Make an appointment with your doctor and find out if your lackadaisical behavior stems from a thyroid deficiency, hormone imbalance or other medical condition that can be treated.
• Visit a psychiatrist or psychologist to determine if your ennui might be amenable to therapy. A prescription for Prozac® or other anti-anxiety medication might be indicated.

Once you have your medical and mental house in order, make a list of what you believe needs to be done. Then, choose a task and do it. It could be the easiest chore on your list, the most onerous one or just a “o-do item at random. Some people like to start with the task that will take the least time to complete. Others take a large task and break it down into smaller, more manageable ones in order to tackle something significant.

Somewhere along the way to your new non-procrastinating lifestyle, you may have to eliminate the distractions that made procrastination so easy in the first place. Is a lazy friend influencing your disorganization? What are you going to do about it?

Perhaps your procrastination is in one specific area of your life, such as education or upgrading of employable skills. These are areas where you can make the most headway in the most dramatic way. Your goals might be accomplished through the use of computer learning software. There are many ways to access free computer education. Availing yourself of Internet training can provide the skills necessary to access information from the World Wide Web that will serve you well in completing other tasks on your to-do list.

Completing a task that you’ve been putting off can provide an exhilarating feeling of triumph. That’s your goal. Once you feel good about what you’ve already done, you’ll start feeling good about your ability to complete what needs to be done.

Prozac is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.

About the Author:
Sheri Graves is a freelance writer living in Santa Rosa, CA.

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