ACCEPT PROCRASTINATION, SOMETIMES

           Copyright 1994 Marcia Yudkin.  You may reproduce this
           entire electronic disk and pass it on as shareware.  All
           other rights reserved.  Excerpted from THE CREATIVE GLOW: 
           HOW TO BE MORE ORIGINAL, INSPIRED & PRODUCTIVE IN YOUR
           WORK, Volume I, #5.

               When was the last time you heard someone say proudly,
           "I'm procrastinating"? Most of us say it with the
           frustration or even shame we reserve for situations like "I
           came down with the flu" or "My car flunked inspection."
           When we procrastinate, we are failing to get started on or
           to finish something we want to or have been told we ought
           to do. By definition, the label of procrastination appears
           condemnatory. Yet not all delay comes from poor discipline
           or lousy work habits. 

               In some circumstances, reluctance and postponement
           actually serve you well. Even if your procrastination is
           not the beneficial kind, you can banish it from your life
           without whips, either the literal or the metaphorical kind.

               The first question to ask yourself is: What exactly am
           I not doing? For some people "procrastination" means not
           going started, while for others it means stopping at the
           first obstacle. For still others, the same label covers
           stopping just before the end of the project. Sometimes
           being able to say, "I've thrown out all the old paint cans
           but not the boxes of old letters" hints at what may be
           going on below the surface.

               Next, ask yourself: Is there a hidden payoff in
           procrastinating? Leaving something undone may be protecting
           you from bigger hurts, like an empty agenda or the
           possibility of failure. Two years ago, I stopped halfway
           through the task of compiling a book of my father's
           letters. When I asked myself this question, I realized I
           was protecting myself from the pain of having to accept
           that there would be no more from him. By asking my sister
           to come over and sit with me while I went back to typing
           them up, I was able to continue.

               Another way to uncover ways in which procrastination
           may be protecting you is to ask: What am I afraid of here?
           Close your eyes and notice any images, words or bodily
           sensations that come up. Being able to say, "I'm afraid of
           having to ask the boss for help" often opens the way to an
           alternative way to accomplish the goal.

               Finally, ask yourself: Am I just not ready to do the
           task? In the clearest kind of beneficial procrastination,
           you delay to allow your subconscious mind to work out a
           comfortable solution on its own time. With what creativity
           researchers call "incubation," a flash of insight comes
           while you're running, washing dishes or dreaming. Eureka!
           Then as if sleeping elves have pitched in to help, the
           project sweeps effortlessly to a finish.

               COMPLETING A DREADED TASK WITHOUT PAIN
           Sometimes when we're stuck with a locked door in front of
           us there's a key hidden under the flowerpot, another door
           behind us or a way to spring the door open with a tap in
           the right place.  Consider these fresh angles on your
           problem task, and watch a #@*%&! task become easier and
           even fun.
 
           - Can you combine the task with something you love to do?
           (Listen to new CDs while figuring your taxes, invite old
           friends to work out with you.)
          
           - What about changing the environment, the setting? (Hike
           around the lake to write that anniversary poem, tell your
           partner you're quitting at Le Restaurant, not the office.)
          
           - What if you did your task the way certain other people do
           it? (How would Madonna shop for a new file cabinet? How
           would Norm No-Nonsense fill out those questionnaires?)
          
           - Suppose you changed your goal? (Aimed at running 8 miles
           per week, not 3, decided to learn enough German for
           cocktail parties, not the foreign service.)