I’m fairly confident that procrastination, the tendency to put off doing important things, is universal.

If Margaret Mead, the famed anthropologist, had sought out data confirming this trait, she would have found plenty, even among remote tribal communities.

Happily, there is a better way of overcoming the temptation to procrastinate than by engaging in compulsive list making and self-downing.

I’ve found that WRITING ARTICLES is an excellent substitute for doing more important things, such as prospecting for fresh business and reducing that always ugly stack of bills.

In fact, you guessed it, I’m writing this article because I’m procrastinating, but I don’t want to utterly fritter away my time. You could force me to admit that writing articles is actually very productive and quite a high and noble use of my talents, but it isn’t Job #1, as the Ford people might say.

I should be doing something else, and I know it.

But knowing myself, I also recognize that being in a proper state of mind is necessary to accomplishing nearly anything.

I could get on the phone and hustle for business, but in my current mood, I’d probably turn-off my prospects. Likewise, if I attacked the bill stack, I’d brood too much about balancing the books, a common habit.

So, I’m settling for presenting this article to you in the firm belief that I’ll feel such a surge of satisfaction in publishing it that I’ll happily hop over to those less fetching activities.

And if I’m wrong, well, you’ll probably have to put up with another article from yours, truly.