Procrastination: The Thief Of Time

Allow me to introduce you to a professional thief. Quick as a laser and as silent as a moonbeam, he can pick any lock in your home or office. You’ll treat him as your closest friend. Ah . . . but watch out, he’ll strip you without a blink of remorse.

Master of clever logic that he is, the bandit will rearrange the facts just enough to gain your sympathy. When others call his character into question, you’ll find yourself not only believing him, but actually quoting and defending him.

Too late, you’ll see through his ruse and give him grudging credit as the shrewdest of all the thieves. Some never come to such a realization at all. They stroll to their graves arm-in-arm with the very robber who has stolen their lives.

His name? Procrastination. His specialty? Stealing time and incentive. Like the proverbial packrat, he makes off with priceless valuables, leaving cheap substitutes in their place: excuses, rationalizations, empty promises, embarrassment and guilt.

Like most crooks, this pro hits you where you are weak - the moment you relax your defenses. Insistent voices of neglected tasks echo in your head and plead for attention. Suddenly your con artist appears and begins to bargain with you. By sundown he is gone and so is your day. . . and so is your hope.

No piper was better paid. No liar more respected. No bandit better rewarded . . . He has one basic product and centers all his energy toward that single goal: defeat." - Charles R. Swindoll from, "Killing, Giants, Pulling Thorns," published by Questar Publications, Portland, OR.

How the thief works. Do you know this thief? This fast-talking embezzler masquerades as a friend. Clever enough, he doesn’t attack our noble intentions, wishes, dreams, hopes and promises. Instead, this thief preys upon our fears, pride and laziness by offering a suggestion of sheer genius, "There is still enough time." He gets us to trade the present for the future.

We learn to flirt between "late" and "too late." Our faith in tomorrow is our blind spot. We imagine implementing our good intentions and reforms just over time’s horizon. But in reality, our lazy "todays" become our empty "tomorrows."

Too late we realize we’ve been operating with a fool’s calendar. When we know our duty and do not do it, we slide, we slide into a future where events, accidents and intrusions transform our dreams and plans into lost opportunities. It really does become "too late."

When duty is plain, delay is both foolish and hazardous; where it is not, delay may be both wisdom and safety. - Tyron Edwards

Our day-to-day life will be filled with guilt and anxiety. Our future will be a time of regret, a time when we’ll wish we’d done what should have been done. We knew better.

Resolves of the morning have a chance to come true: Visions in the evening do not last the night.

By indulging the silent thief of procrastination, we edge closer and closer to being dishonest. Empty promises, excuses and rationalizations come closer and closer to lies. Our thief made us a co-conspirator. In our heart, we may be honorable; in our deeds, we are false. We do not deliver what we say we are going to deliver. - Charles Swindoll

Why do people procrastinate? About 20 percent of the population report a habit of procrastination. Why do they do it? Or should I say "we"?

Fear of judgment. Procrastinators have excessively high standards by which they judge themselves, often harshly. They have low self-confidence. They are self-conscious. They worry about social comparisons. They are disorganized. They lack competitiveness.

Preserve image. A second motive is to enhance social-esteem. Procrastinators are excessively concerned with public image. By not competing or finishing a project, their true ability is never evaluated by others. Procrastinators avoid situations where their abilities are put to the test. They prefer their illusion of being competent without being faced with counter evidence. In their mind, unfulfilled potential is better than demonstrated failure.

Procrastinators don’t just fear failure. They fear success. Some people might feel that if they succeed, they would have to consistently sustain that high level of competence, something they are not sure they can do. They also avoid greater commitments that go with demonstrated success.

Dread. This thief is at his best when we are down and out, short of answers for a crisis that bedevils us. He wants our last dollar by plunging us into immobilizing dread, fear and depression. He preys on our shame. A farmer, commenting on tough choices, offered this suggestion, "If you have to swallow a frog, you don’t want to look at him too long." Makes sense to me.

Here is a simple formula for beating the thief of procrastination. "If it is important, do it NOW."