Chapter 4: Procrastination: The Thief of Time Everyone does it. Everyone feels guilty when they do it. And everyone resolves never to do it again. But they do. Everyone procrastinates. | Procrastination The Thief of Time Everyone does it. Everyone feels guilty when they do it. And everyone resolves never to do it again. But they do. Everyone procrastinates. Procrastination the cat burglar of time management steals into your life and whisks away one of the most valuable assets you possess. Of course not everyone regrets putting things off. Indeed some people having decided that it s so ingrained in human nature that there s no use struggling against it take pride in their status as procrastinators. There s even a National Procrastinators Club. Really. You can find out all about it at . It has about 10 000 members no one is really sure though since the full list has never been compiled or completed. The group occasionally tries to have meetings but customarily postpones them. The same person was president for decades because the club never got around to holding new elections. And dues . well collecting them must be an interesting process. Copyright 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Click here for Terms of Use. 42 Procrastination The Thief of Time 43 What s Behind Procrastination Procrastination can be a thoroughly amusing concept indeed. But as with all things humorous there are some underlying deep and darker forces. At the root of procrastination argue psychologists almost always lurks some hidden fear or conflict that urges us to put things off. A person may be obliged to achieve certain results but a multitude of opposing emotions serve to short-circuit action. Although the procrastinator may act as if the threat fear or conflict is gone it s still there both in the real world and in the person s subconscious where it generates stress and ultimately corrodes success. Time management experts have identified the eight most typical causes of procrastination shown in Figure 4-1. Figure 4-1. Causes of procrastination Internal Forces Note that four of the causes those in the shaded boxes are primarily inner rooted. They .
