Why do we procrastinate? I’ll tell you when I get around to it

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I’d love to do a survey on how many procrastinators there are in the world. It would make me feel so much better about myself.
For the most part I am a goal-driven person who has accomplished a great deal. But I often wonder what more I could have done if I weren’t so good at putting things off. I am now in the midst of writing another book. I had a year to do it, but I started writing it two months ago. Somehow or other I had convinced myself that I had plenty of time, and I did. But every week I became a master at putting it off. Eventually I had to fess up and was given an extension. The new deadline is November. I now feel I have ‘‘plenty of time.’’

I have done this in many areas of my life, like cleaning out drawers and closets, losing weight, having the oil changed in the car or visiting a difficult relative. It doesn’t make sense, but then we all know that.

Every day you don’t perform the given tasks becomes a day fraught with anxiety about what’s going to happen because you didn’t do what you were supposed to do. You have to keep fooling yourself into thinking you have some really good excuses. Being tired and busy are good ones. My favorite is ‘‘eventually I’ll get to it.’’ But we all pay the piper for procrastinating. It adds to our stress levels, because you can’t get into the closet anymore, instead of 10 pounds, you have to lose 20, the car stopped running and the relative had a stroke and no longer knows who you are.

Guilt, regret, anxiety and hours lost that could have been spent just getting the job done, instead of just thinking about it. If you’ve got an answer, let me know. But wait a couple of weeks. I’m busy right now.

Author, humorist, PBS star and Fortune 500 trainer Loretta LaRoche lives in Plymouth. To share your pet peeves, questions or comments, write to The Humor Potential, 50 Court St., Plymouth 02360, send e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit the Web site at www.stressed.com, or call toll-free 800-99-TADAH (82324).

By LORETTA LAROCHE For The Patriot Ledger

Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, August 28, 2006

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