Dealing with procrastination Published March 18, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Marcus McCall 451st AEW Chaplain KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Do any of these phrases sound familiar? "I'll get to it when I can." "Give me one second." "As soon as I'm done with this." "I just need a little more time to figure things out." "Soon." "Tomorrow." "I've got plenty of time." Have you ever uttered these words? I know I sure have. These are phrases that many procrastinators use. What is a procrastinator? A procrastinator is someone who keeps putting things off. If we are honest with ourselves we would admit that a lot of us struggle with procrastination. For some reason we tend to put things off to the very last minute. We procrastinate in our homes, finances, careers, and our education. Why? Because we tend to think that we have all of the time in the world. Here's the problem with procrastinators: typically they never get anything done! And if they do get the project done it typically is rushed and it isn't nearly as good as it could've been. Think about how much more stuff in your life that could've gotten completed had you not procrastinated. Think about how much further you could be in life had you buckled down and focused on the task that was in front of you. Many of us stay at work much later than our typical duty day because of procrastination. Here is a helpful tip to alleviate procrastination: create a checklist of priorities and as you finish each task cross them out. Completing the items on the list will give you a sense of accomplishment and will also help you keep focused on your tasks. Are there areas in your life that you have been procrastinating in? If so, start on it today. Time is of the essence.