To Do or Not To Do

Why we procrastinate and how to stop

- Christina Palassio

TRACE MACKAY PUTS the pro in procrastination. As a pre-teen, she entered a speaking competition and only started writing her speech the night before. In veterinary school, she pulled all-nighters to cram for exams. Now 48 years old and living outside of Sauble Beach, Ontario, she works part-time as a vet and part-time as a consultant. But she still procrastinates on everything from her taxes to work projects.

"I'll do just about anything to procrastinate. I'll play sudoku on my phone. I'll strike up a conversation with somebody," says MacKay. "Especially right now, working from home, I'll do some laundry, or go in the garden to water or weed, or take longer reading the paper in the morning than I should-all just to delay starting my workday."

MacKay has developed strategies to beat her procrastination. She sets early deadlines at work and asks her accountant to book her a personal cutoff a month before taxes are due. But because her procrastination has never gotten her into hot water, MacKay says she's never been forced to address it. So she keeps delaying.

Even if you're not a serial procrastinator, chances are there are many times you've put off a must-do task in favour of doing another, more fun one. In its more harmless forms, procrastinating can lead us to let our homes get messier than we'd like, or delay a much-needed vacation.

In its more pernicious forms, it can keep us from having important conversations with loved ones or delay addressing health issues. And it can take its toll on our self-confidence, health and happiness.

Luckily, there are easy and practical steps we can take to tame the procrastination beast and start living the lives we want to.

RECOGNIZE PROCRASTINATION