I've been working on this article for months now but somehow I just never get around to finishing it. It seems something else always keeps coming up--perhaps I'll finish it during this sitting. However, the idea of why do today what I can put off until tomorrow seems quite appealing--so perhaps I'll finish it during my lifetime.

This may sound humorous if not ridiculous, however, some people approach life's challenges with this type of attitude. In fact, it can lead to neurotic ways that make up the support system for maintaining putting-it-off behavior.

According to Mr. Webster, procrastination is putting off doing something until a future time; it is postponing or deferring taking action; and this behavior can become habitual. This is not the same as being lazy/sloth like in nature but it does have a root existence with pride, fear, guilt and shame. It is one of the most universal self-defeating behaviors that human beings embrace. It is a type of behavior that may seem perfectly acceptable, but in reality is harmful to your mental health. You might ask yourself questions like: "What do I get out of my behavior?" and "Why does it persist if it is injurious to me?" Essentially it is easier and safer to hang onto a learned response, even if it is self-destructive. Furthermore, you can eliminate having to change or to take responsibility if you keep this erroneous behavior intact. The payoffs/rewards of safety and security serve to keep blame away from you and the opportunity to change at bay.

Let me start by asking you to examine your life in the light of choices you have made or didn't make. This puts all responsibility for what you are and how you feel on you. Becoming healthier and more effective will mean becoming more aware of the choices that are available to you. Empowering yourself to take responsibility for your choices and the consequences of them will place you in charge of your present moments. Choice and present moment living are the touchstones for effective living. In effort to make these changes you'll be asking yourself these questions: "Why am I choosing to feel upset right now?" and "How can I make more effective use of my present moments?" These type queries will assist you in living in an internally rather than externally controlled emotional world. In turn, this promotes self-confidence and self-esteem rather than keeping yourself stuck in the "victim" role.

The procrastinator has a support system for maintaining putting-it-off behavior and it is generally anchored in three basic neurotic phrases: "I hope things will work out" and "I wish things were better", and " maybe it'll be okay." All wishes, hopes and maybes are merely a waste of time--the folly of fairyland residents. These are merely convenient escape clauses that provide inertia as a strategy for living. The rationale for putting-it-off is composed of one part self-delusion and two parts escape. Donald Marquis called procrastination "the art of keeping up with yesterday." Resolving to do something in the future which you could do now is an acceptable substitute for doing it, and permits you to delude yourself that you are really not compromising yourself by not doing what you have set out to do. This is the sort of convenient and fallacious reasoning that can be brought into play when you are faced with having to do something which is unpleasant or difficult.

You are not necessarily what you say. Behavior is a much better barometer of what you are than words. What you do in your present moments is the only indicator of what you are as a person. Putting-it-off as a way of life is one technique that you can use to avoid doing. A non-doer is very often a critic. It is easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk and change. The real doers of the world have no time to be critical of others. They're too busy doing--they work. They help others who are not as talented, rather than serve as their critics. The non-doers may be using criticism to absolve himself/herself of the responsibility for their own ineffectiveness by projecting it onto those who are really making an effort.

Boredom can be seen as a spin-off of procrastination. Life is never boring but some people choose to be bored. The concept of boredom entails an inability to use up present moments in a personally fulfilling way. Boredom is a choice; something you can visit upon yourself and it is another of those self-defeating items that you can eliminate from your life. When you procrastinate, you use your present moments doing nothing, as an alternative to doing anything. Doing nothing leads to boredom. The tendency is to blame boredom on the environment. If you want the world to change, don't complain about it. Do Something. Rather than using up your present moments with all kinds of immobilizing anxiety over what you are putting off, take charge of this negative habit--be a doer, and avoid wishing, hoping and criticizing.

The intent of this article was not only to present the "why" to this self-defeating behavior but also to offer concrete strategies for eliminating this troublesome area. Eliminate these reasons and you'll eradicate the problem. One of these times I may get around to writing another article on these concrete strategies, however, if you are really motivated to break this type of behavior--call your JSO/EAP, telephone 630-0750, make an appointment, and we'll be grateful to serve you.