Well, if the title looks like an oxymoron, it depends totally on your viewpoint. You can either consider the power to procrastinate, or the power to overcome it. Truth is, its the very reason why some people sit on the back seat of the car, while others drive it for him.
I guess the habit of procrastination starts when we go to kindergarten, or rather don't want to until our parents kick us out o f bed... and follow that off with college, where we bunk the first period, and so on and so forth.
Frankly, in my still young career of online marketing, or programming, for that matter even for washing clothes, if I had to point the number of reason for personal failure at any point of time, it had to be procrastination.
Truth is if an study is done, I bet an entrepreneur, has more reason to procrastinate than an employed individual. You see as an entrepreneur, you control and give your own reasons, as an employee, well the time starts ticking away your paycheck, as soon as it hits nine a.m.
Procrastination by definition is -
Putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time.
It is the humane and human ability to see, and remarkably justify the saying :-
"What you can do today, do it the next day"
Lethargy is a part of what makes us, us, and you can't take that away. What you can do is command its hold over you, so that you don't keep shifting that article you had to write, or the letter you had to answer or the video you had to make to an infinite future and beyond.
I am not exactly writing a book on it, but I will try to squeeze in some tips on the control part in this article.
First and foremost remember that old saying :-
Procrastination is the thief of time.
—Edward Young (1683–1765)
And we all know how much time is deposited in our vaults at midnight am every day.
We procrastinate because you don't want to do the job : I confess, I delayed writing this article. Well I love writing, and I love what I write, but before actually taking up the pen, or the laptop in this case, there is a suspended period when I can think of a 100 reasons to delay it. The same applies to my workout schedule. Before entering the gym I could probably raise myself a fever, just to stay at home. But once inside, once the grind starts, once you sweat it out, sweet victory.
I love the outcome. And that is what you have to focus on.
Stop thinking of the trouble, stop thinking of the grind, stop thinking of 'I can just do it tomorrow...'
Envisage what your result is, and focus on that. Tell yourself what the possible outcome of this delay will be, and how it will negatively affect you. Remember by putting-off you are just wasting another minute, another hour, but eventually you have to do it anyways. So a delay could possibly cause you a loss in money, time, energy, goodwill, and if you have enough bad luck, maybe a million dollar deal! (Touch wood.)
Eat the Frog : Sometime ago I read this very interesting idea. And no, you don't actually swallow a frog. What it propounds, is imagine a situation where the first thing you have to do in the morning is swallow a flog. Everything else throughout the day, would seem like a piece of cake...literally. So when you set down to work, think of the toughest, most horrendous, dis likable work you have in your TO-DO list and than as Nike said it "Just Do It".
Prioritize what you need to do : This is not an advice, an idea, or a suggestion. This is such a well know quote, it is probably an idiom or saying handed over from time unknown. You need to prioritize your tasks, everyday. And than set about striking them out every time you finish it. I have a TO-DO list for my computer related activities. When I finish a To-Do, I give myself a treat, by watching one of my favorite music videos. That gets me ready for my next task as well.
I don't have time for this : Well here is a universal truth. No one has time for anything, you just have to make it. Heck, I don't have time to sleep, but I carve it out of my 24 hours, and make it happen.(I am a workaholic). Point is, unless you stop getting distracted while at work, and get your act together, giving yourself specific time periods to get your tasks done, you will never have time to keep up a TO-DO list. You time management goes for a toss, and its a domino effect that follows.
Well that's some of the pointers from my personal side. Hope that brightens you up a bit, and if you really like it, follow it.