Dr. Dru Scott comments on an even more subtle cause of lateness: “A salesman who gets himself all set to leave the office on time for an important client meeting turns back at the door to make ‘just one more phone call.’ A lawyer on the way to catch a plane feels compelled to delay her departure by dictating ‘just one more memo.’ They get negative stimulation from this form of procrastination. It automatically creates a need for that exciting last-minute rush.”

Yes, last-minute excitement​—though unpleasant—​can actually serve the purpose of providing needed stimulation. If you suspect that you may be “addicted” to this kind of excitement, how can you overcome it? Dru Scott suggests: “Stimulation is a basic need, one we all share. It doesn’t show lack of maturity to seek it. Healthy human beings recognize the need. They learn how to take care of it productively.”

In other words, look over your weekly plans. Have you included some positive activities to fill your own need for excitement or stimulation? Or is your schedule one list of monotonous, mediocre routines? Nobody has complete control over his activities, but if you make it a point to provide stimulation where you can, you may more easily tolerate the routine aspects of life without having to resort to lateness to provide excitement.

“But I Perform Best Under Pressure!”

Some people claim that when they wait until the last minute, they perform better. And if that is really true in your case, well and good. But be honest with yourself. Do you really do your best when you wait until the last minute?

In his book Working Smart, Michael LeBoeuf observes: “Few, if any of us ever do our best work under pressure, despite what we would like to believe. . . . First, if you are forced to work at an accelerated pace, you increase the odds of making mistakes. . . . Second . . . , something may come up that’s extremely urgent and rob you of those few precious moments you allocated to doing the job. . . . Third, assuming all went well and you did get a lot done in a little time, it only means you know how to be effective but don’t choose to unless you are under pressure. You are cheating yourself by failing to become more of what you are capable of.”

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Ways to Overcome Waiting Until the Last Minute

1. Break large, overwhelming tasks into small doable activities.

2. Take a physical step toward accomplishing a job. For example, if you are putting off reading a book, take the book off the shelf and place it near your favorite reading chair.

3. Make a commitment to someone. Tell a friend or supervisor that you will complete a certain project by a specific time.

4. Give yourself a reward as you complete each stage of a large project.

5. When you catch yourself procrastinating, admit to yourself, ‘I’m wasting my time.’ This reminder can eventually lead to taking control and deciding to stop procrastinating.

6. Consider the price of delay: Will the workload increase? Will the financial cost increase? Suppose you get sick when the last minute arrives? What if the project takes longer than you expected? Might there be a series of interruptions? Will the quality of your last-minute work suffer?​—From How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein.

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Do you feel a need to do ‘one more thing’ before leaving for an appointment?

Do you really do your best under pressure?

Use waiting time to relax or to accomplish something you want to do