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I want to say something sensible about procrastination. But my keyboard is laughing at me. It winks at me and says: \"How can you be rational in the face of irrational behaviour?\"

What shall I do? I think I\'ll stick to my guns because I am a do-it-now person.

Pardon my arrogance but by joining the ranks of the do-it-now crowd I have just joined the 5% club. That five percent of people who set goals and do the things they need to do to achieve their desired results.   Every day my patience is tested by chronic procrastinators. It\'s an epidemic out there! But why? It\'s seems so damn silly to

steal time from yourself: The big sigh:\"I\'m too busy to do that now\" is utterly irrational.

Putting things off drains your energy, diminishes your effectiveness and lessens your impact. The undone item distracts you until it\'s done, it hangs over you like a dark cloud about to rain down on you. You may even lose your sense of being in the driver\'s seat.

Don\'t laugh! I see it every day. And anyway, laughing means you identify with what I\'m saying!

So to balance out my former arrogance I\'ll try a little compassion and offer up a few underlying, sneaky little causes of procrastination that may help you identify the rot and eliminate it!

Why do people procrastinate when it\'s such a senseless habit to have? (these suggestions are for those around you, not for you of course.)

Twelve possible causes of procrastination:
1. Lack of relevance of the task?
2. Lack of interest in the task?
3. Standards set too high?
4. Anxiety over other\'s reactions?
5. Uncertainty as to what is expected?
6. Fear of failure. Fear of success?
7. Self-doubt?
8. Inability to complete the task?
9. Lack of information?
10. Simple fatigue?
12. Environmental conditions? (Poor lighting/temperature)

Ready now for some creative solutions? But first I have a favour to ask of you. Please don\'t read the following solutions list until you are prepared to act on at least one of them within the next few minutes. OK?

Putting a stop to putting it off. Some solutions:
1. Identify the obstacles. Done that!
2. What information/tools/time do I need to finish this task?
3. Set clear goals with a time-line and a dead-line! Yea!
4. Positive reinforcement. Stop looking to others for validation.
5. Are your standards realistic?
6. Divide and conquer. Break the task down into \"baby-steps\".
7. Delegate!
9. Teach yourself to touch-type.
10. Use affirmations and carrots. (Rewards for completed projects - they work!)

To wrap, if you can stand a little repetition I\'d like to offer what I call \"7 Keys to Excellent time Management\".