Some people live in procrastination as a daily habit. Having to face an unpleasant task, their minds supply them with all kinds of good reasons to postpone doing the job. The consequences of this postponement are often a fair amount of guilt and an increase in personal tension. If carried to an extreme, procrastination can reduce personal effectiveness while it dramatically increases the weight of the load people carry, because tasks that are postponed pile up. For inspiration about how to quit procrastinating, we turn to a film where postponement was impossible.

In Twelve O'clock High (1949), Gregory Peck is a General who is assigned the task of renewing the morale and effectiveness of an airborne unit in World War II. Watching the film, one is struck by the power of the General to get others into action when they would have preferred to procrastinate. How he does this is simple. With authority in his voice, he commands his subordinates to do their jobs with haste. As we watch the various film characters promptly obey the General, we discover that, if we had an internal General who ordered us into action, it might help us to overcome the procrastination that haunts us and makes us ineffective. As you make your way through "Deadly Delay," be aware of the fact that, before procrastination occurs, the thought "I'll put this off until another day" has become the star idea in the movie of your mind.

Your movie

In a moment, you will use your imagination to get a clearer picture of your inner movie about procrastination. The point of understanding this pattern of thoughts, feelings, and effects is to deepen your awareness of its dynamics and impact, so you can make conscious choices and create a new movie to live within.

Recall a time when you were stuck in procrastination. Close your eyes and replay the experience in your imagination. Then, write a brief description of that drama below, carefully including the thoughts that supported it, the feelings that arose from those thoughts, and how those feelings affected what you said and did. (Enter your response in the following box or in your word processor window.)

What effects did this drama have on you and others?

Consequences

Briefly describe what you get from procrastination. What are the payoffs?

Briefly describe the price you pay for it. What parts of yourself and your life do you sacrifice when you procrastinate too often or for too long?

Is what you are getting in payoffs worth the sacrifices you are making? Explain.

New choices

Having become more aware of this movie, including what you get from it and what you sacrifice, what new choices in thinking and being are being revealed to you? Note them.

Create a new movie

Relying on those choices and your creativity, sketch out ideas for a different movie which incorporates new ways of thinking and being. As you create your new movie, be aware that you are of two minds because you have a dual nature. Your duality gives you the capacity to shift from one thought to its opposite in a search for balance. For example, there is a part of you that can get unpleasant jobs done without hesitation. How will cultivating that capacity alter how you live?

As you look back on your work, identify the first step you will take to make the changes you designed.

With your eyes closed, imagine living in the new movie you created.

If you observe your thoughts while you are procrastinating, you will discover a drama where various thoughts compete for your attention and dominance. People who procrastinate listen to the thoughts that tell them to postpone; people who resist postponing the inevitable listen to thoughts that encourage prompt action. To achieve balance about this issue, imagine being free to choose whether to postpone a task or not. Sometimes, delaying tasks is a wise course, especially when there are already too many things to do. The point is to be able to go in either direction by choice rather than habit. Not procrastinating when there is not enough time for a new task would be as foolish as procrastinating all the time. Where procrastination becomes a problem is when it is extreme and automatic. When we call forth that part of us that can get jobs done without resistance, we gain access to greater freedom. We can choose to put things off or get things done according to the demands of our circumstances rather than because we are running in automatic.

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