Procrastination

1. What am I talking about? I am the thief of productiveness and time. I sound simple, but in fact I'm quite complex. I am a strange phenomenon. My purpose seems to make my life more pleasant, but instead it almost always adds stress, disorganization, and frequent failure. I want to achieve some outcome, usually something myself and others can value and respect; "I've got to start." I delay briefly thinking of real and imagined advantages of starting to change later; "I will do it tomorrow."

2. Good evening gentlemen. My name is Bobby Hurley. I've been in the military now for just over nine years. All this time I've always said that I'm going to finish my degree but until this past year I have never been able to stay committed to doing so because I am a procrastinator. I've gotten some help with my procrastination from various web sites. That's why this evening I would like to talk to you about three important aspects of procrastination. These include the reasons for procrastinating, some symptoms of procrastination, and how to cure procrastination, but first, let me explain what procrastination is. Procrastination, though not officially classified as such, is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another and can have roots in several officially recognized "illnesses", such as phobia, depression, and even low self-esteem. For some people it can be a minor problem but with others it is a source of considerable stress and anxiety.

3. This brings me to my first point, reasons for procrastinating. One reason for this is poor time management. What this is, is not being able to manage your day or yourself effectively. You may be uncertain of your priorities, goals and objectives or may be overwhelmed with the task. As a result, you may put off your academic assignments for a later date. You may also spend a great deal of time with your friends and social activities. Lastly, but most importantly, you worry about your upcoming examinations, class projects or papers rather than completing or studding for them.

4. Another cause of procrastination is having difficulty concentrating. What this is, is your inability to stay focused on one subject or object for any length of time. When you sit at your desk you quite often find yourself daydreaming, staring into space, or surfing the net on your computer, instead of doing the task at hand. Your environment is distracting and noisy. You keep running back and forth for equipment such as pencils, erasers, dictionaries, and etc. Your desk is cluttered and unorganized and sometimes you even sit or lay on your bed to study or do your assignments. All of these examples that you just heard promote time wasting and frustration which prohibits you from staying concentrated.

5. Though I've only touched on a couple, there are many more reasons for procrastinating such as fear of anxiety or failure and even personnel or financial problems. So, you might be asking, how do I know if I'm a procrastinator or not? Well, this brings me to my second point, symptoms of procrastination. One of the worst aspects of procrastination is postponement. When one is postponing an important task, it becomes very difficult to enjoy recreational activities. One is socializing with friends or watching a film, and there is this nagging thought, "I should be working." A dark cloud of guilt hangs over your head and dampens any pleasure you might be extracting from the distractions of the moment. So, by not getting things done in a reasonably and timely manner, or not done at all, precious