Ah, I'll do it later. Just five more minutes. After I take this break. Or right after this, I just don't want to miss who kisses who and hey tomorrow's an easy day I can squeeze it in tomorrow, and if anything there's always the weekend...

Life is too short. We can't afford to keep losing a minute here, a day there, a week here. But efficient time-management is something that is just SO hard for people to do. It's remarkable. Years... YEARS of one's life are wasted without anyone noticing, except for those of us who have realized this and are aiming to make time work for us, not against us. The vast majority of people, however, instead of making use of the little time they do have actually do the opposite: they can't seem to help but make their situation worse by procrastinating.

It isn't especially hard to make good use of one's time- it just takes a little bit of initiative, practice, and a lot of planning and discipline. It's the last one, discipline, that usually kills people. If you're reading this, it's because you need help, so here are some ways to battle procrastination and add [meaningful] years to your life.

Planning

The saying 'failing to plan is planning to fail' is so true. So here it is. Get a sheet of paper, a working pen or pencil, and write down the top things you have to do today (no excuses) and things you can do should you get ahead of schedule. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Think carefully and plan accordingly. Plan for minor setbacks. Make your plan flexible in case you have to change something and make sure to factor in breaks.

Write down realistic short term goals and long-term goals and label them as such. You want to be best friends with your pen and paper, because psychologically if we see it written, we feel obligated to do it. When you've completed a task, DO cross it off for clarity and to give yourself that oh so good feeling of accomplishment.

What to do? Start Small

Now if you're still having trouble completed the tasks you've set out to do, write down....WRITE DOWN the most basic, easiest baby steps to get you working in the right direction. Write GET UP.... walk to the office, turn on the computer, and open a word processor (for example), or write grab the phone, just grab the phone, and cross it off as you act.

Once you do something small, like step into a room, or go outside, or get yourself a little dirty by kneeling on the floor under the hood of a car- whatever- anything small just to get you started, you will be SO much closer to doing what you have to do. Cross out what you've just done, then do what you can to take advantage of that momentum and keep going. In fact, let's practice now. If you're serious do this exercise. Write down :

• stand up
• step forward
• put both hands in the air
• stretch and take a deep breath

What are you waiting for?

You have got to start now. Start as early as possible, always. The later you start, the more work you will have to do. That is a fact. Not only that, but you will be pressed for time and your work will be half-assed and it will show. This whole I-work-better-under-pressure is a BS excuse for procrastination. So if you're thinking it, you are full of it. Get to work...NOW.

You will find that once you practice these skills regularly, you will feel MUCH better. You will be less stressed, you will do better work, and you will be able to accomplish more of your goals. If you get bogged down again, and suddenly see yourself again under the influence of procrastination, don't worry. Take a deep breath, forgive yourself, and follow these steps again. The fact that you're reading this is already a step in the right direction.

Vincent St. James of thecollegeguys.com has written several articles on self-improvement that can be found all over the web. All are original works of thecollegeguys.com. Vincent also writes about personal finance and the film industry.

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