I procrastinated in writing this article. Seriously. I admit it.

    At times, wanting to get things “just right,” I’ll slip into procrastination: making lists, jotting down ideas, checking emails, clicking on links to websites in my bookmarks toolbar… and so forth. Worried about how something will turn out, I’ll simply slow down or will be more prone to distraction. That was the case with this post - and as the Edward Young quotation so aptly captures, time was definitely stolen - or more accurately, wasted.

    Procrastination isn’t usually a problem for me, but 20% of the U.S. population are chronic procrastinators, according to Dr. Joseph Ferrari of     DePaul University in Chicago. That fact means that procrastination and the ensuing reduction in productivity are significant problems in the U.S. . It gets worse: studies have shown that college students who procrastinate are more apt to get sick from colds, the flu and gastrointestinal problems.

    What can I do?

    If you sometimes procrastinate, you might gain some insight into why you do so by understanding the three basic types of procrastinators; they are:

    * The thrill seeker who looks forward to the rush he or she gets when facing last-minute deadline pressure
    * The avoiders - those who avoid completing tasks for fear of failure or success and who are especially worried about what others think of them. Perfectionists fall into this category (this is me)
    * Decisional procrastinators - those who simply can’t make a decision; not making a decision relieves this type of procrastinator responsibility for the outcome of events

    No matter what type of procrastinator you are, there are six simple steps you can take to address this issue…

    1. Set clear goals

    As you approach projects and tasks, set clear goals for their completion. Using this post as an example, my goal could simply be: complete a first draft by Sunday evening, revise Monday evening, schedule for publication at 4AM on Tuesday. My clear goal would be to have the post completed and final by Monday evening.

    If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there? Set clear, definitive goals. Your goals should be specific, measurable, and time-bound (i.e., have a clear completion date and/or time.) And having done this, stick to those goals.

    2. Eliminate distractions

    We all have WAY too many distractions every day. Only you know exactly what works for you, but here are a few things to consider:

    * Turn off all electronic alarms for email, SMS, etc.
    * Log off your email account
    * If working on your computer, have just one program or browser tab open - unless your work requires research & multiple tabs
    * Close the door
    * Ditch the iPod, iTunes, and anything else that’ll distract you
    * Forward your phone into voicemail
    * Shut off your Blackberry…

    …and so forth. In short, reduce the number of potential distractions so you can FOCUS.

    3. Stop worrying about perfection

    Face it: it’s not going to be perfect. Things in life rarely are. Better to hammer out a rough draft and revise later than spin your wheels for hours. Instead of worrying about how others will react to your work, recognize that you’ll be disappointed in yourself if you don’t get the work done or do a poor job because you procrastinated… and in the larger scheme of things, that disappointment will sting far worse than any other.

    4. Don’t lie to yourself

    Sometimes we’ll tell ourselves little lies like, “I’ll be much better equipped to jump on this early tomorrow morning,” or “There’s not enough pressure on me to do this now - I’ll wait till tomorrow, or the day after.” All we accomplish when we lie to ourselves like this is to waste our best resource - time. Don’t lie to yourself! You aren’t kidding anyone. Stop lying, start doing, and you’ll feel better about yourself.

    5. Break it into pieces

    One of the oldest axioms out there, but it’s true: break the task into smaller chunks and tackle one at a time. For this post, it could be something like: a) create a rough outline of the post; b) conduct research; c) write a rough draft. By turning it into a series of smaller pieces, the task becomes more manageable. Focusing on the first, smaller step of a project makes the entire task less daunting, and makes it easier to start.

    6. Do it NOW!

    “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

    -Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism (~200 BC)

    Having done steps 1-5, what remains is simple: START. Do it now. As is the case with many things we fear, once underway, it’s not all that bad. And if you stay focused, you’ll get a lot done quickly. Getting started is the tough part; simply do it now.

    我承認，我確實在寫這篇文章上也有所拖延。

    有時，我們在等待“合適的時間”去做某些事。那我們將陷入拖延的境地：從開始提綱、草草記下想法、查看電子郵件 、以及查看書簽工具欄中的網絡鏈接、、、、、等等。擔心一些事情的發生，我們將止步不前或者更傾向于受外物干擾。這篇稿子所遇到情況正如愛德華·揚所描述拖沓所所掠奪的那樣，時間無疑是被偷去了---或者更為恰當的說是時間被浪費了。

    拖沓并不是我常犯的毛病，但按照芝加哥的保羅大學約瑟夫·法拉利博士的說法20%的美國人是慢性拖拉者。這個情況意為著拖沓以及由拖沓引起的生產力的減少是美國的重大問題。更讓人擔憂的事：研究發現拖沓的學生更傾向于患上著涼、流感和腸胃方面的疾病。

    我該怎么做？

    如果你有拖沓的習慣，你需要去知道你為什么會這樣，通過理解拖沓的3個基本類型將有助于你的洞察其中的奧秘，它們是：

    * 刺激尋找者:渴望面臨最終期限壓力所帶來的匆忙感覺。

    * 逃避者：由于對失敗和成功的害怕或者是害怕別人對自己的想法，而去逃避完成任務。十全十美者屬于這一類（我也是這類）

    * 優柔寡斷拖延者：這些人僅僅是不能做出決定；不做出決定減少這類拖沓者對事情結果的所承擔的責任。

    不論你是那種類型的拖沓者，你都可以用這 6個簡單的步驟來處理這個問題、、、、

    1.設立清晰的目標

    當你接手一個計劃和任務，設定完成任務的清晰目標。用這篇稿子為例，我的目標能簡單的概括為：在星期天下午之前完成初稿，星期一下午修改，發表時間則設定在周二的凌晨4點。我的清晰的目標將使我的稿子最后在周一下午完成。

    如果你不知道從何入手，那你該怎樣去做呢？設定清晰的、最終的目標。你的目標應該是詳細的、適當的和有時間限制的（比如：有一個明確的完成日期或者時間。）然后在做這件事上要始終和目標保持一致。

    2．消除分心的因素

    我們每天都要遇到很多分心的事物。盡管只有你自己才清楚哪些是對你有幫助的，但是以下的一些事物應該考慮的：

    * 關閉所有的電子郵件、短信等的電子警報。

    * 注銷您的電子郵件帳戶

    * 如果你是在電腦上工作，只打開一個程序或者瀏覽器標簽---除非你的工作需要搜索和多個標簽。

    * 關上門

    * 拋開iPod、iTunes和其他所有能轉移你注意力的事物。

    * 轉發您的電話到語音信箱

    * 關掉你的Blackberry（智能手機）

    等等，簡而言之，減少潛在的分心的事物的數量，那樣你就可以更為專注。

    3.不用擔心完善

    面對它：它不會是完美的。生活中完美的事物寥寥無幾。比起在耗費幾個小時而沒有進展不如列出一個粗略的草案，然后再修改來得好。不要去擔心他人怎么看待你的工作，認清楚如果由于你的拖延而沒有完成工作或者把工作做得很糟，那才是讓你自己失望的根源。還有就是如果在一個大的計劃中，拖延將帶來的后果將更加糟糕。

    4.不要欺騙自己

    有時你會對自己諸如此類的小謊言：“我最好還是明天早上開始干這個工作”或者“我現在還沒有興趣做這個---還是等到明天或者后天再做吧。”當我們像這樣欺騙自己的時候，我們所做的只不過是是在浪費我們最為寶貴的財富——時間。不要欺騙自己！你不是在嘲弄他人。停止說謊，開始工作，你的自我感覺才會更好。

    5.把事情分成幾個部分做

    盡管這是一個非常古老的公理之一，但是它是正確的：把任務分成更小的部分，然后一次一個的完成。就拿這篇稿子而言，就應該像這樣把它分解：a）制定稿子的粗略大綱；b）研究調查；c）寫初稿。通過把它轉變成更小的部分，這個任務就更易于處理。專注于第一個部分，方案的更小一部分將使整個任務變得不再讓人退縮，也使得任務更容易開始。

    6.現在就開始做

    “千里之行始于足下。”

    ——老子，道教創始人（公元前200~）

    做到了1至5步，剩下的就是：開始。現在就做。照現在的樣子我們有許多事情感到害怕，一旦開始，其實也沒那么糟糕。如果你也保持專注，你將很快就完成很多事。開始做一件事情是困難的，而簡單的是現在就開始做。