As I was saying last week, my word for the year is ‘implementation’ – which is just a fancy word for ‘getting things done’ – and for me this requires going into battle daily with a most mischievous and evil enemy: The Instant Gratification Monkey.

Those of you who have worked with me on the subject of time management and productivity will know that I’m a reformed procrastinator: so much so, the ultimate ironic fact is that I was forced to overcome this dreadful habit in order to create a course about this very topic on a crazy short deadline last year, with the result that I actually managed to finish a day early (a joyful state of affairs previously never experienced by me).

But like any reformed addict, I do struggle with the beastly procrastination demon every single day, and consciously need to remind myself of the cures I found for these habits in order to keep on top of my daily to do list and actually make headway into my long-term projects. Hence the big IMPLEMENTATION sign now posted above my computer, reminding me to stand firm and resist the lure of all the wonderful distractions vying for my attention on a daily basis.

So it was with a wide grin of self recognition that I read an article recently posted on Facebook* called “Why Procrastinators Procrastinate”, in which the writer beautifully and simply describes exactly what is going on in our minds when we fall into that desperate downward spiral of procrastination into what he has named… (cue booming scary announcer voice) ‘The Dark Playground.’

It turns out that the evil procrastination demon is actually a monkey; ‘The Instant Gratification Monkey’ no less, and this is the guy that constantly attempts to grab hold of our mental steering wheels and swerve us off into unproductive territory at the very moment we know with every fibre of our beings that we should be doing something else!

Now I know you’re busy and no doubt you have something really important you need to be getting on with (oh, the irony), but if you want to stay a little longer in the Dark Playground in order to work out why it holds such power over you, read the original article here: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html

*The ULTIMATE Dark Playground!!!!

Do you procrastinate? Let us know in the comments below!

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Alison Rentoul is ex yacht crew with 15 years of yachting experience, and a professionally trained personal development coach working with crew worldwide, helping them realise their highest potential at every level. See www.thecrewcoach.com for more information.