In his articles, Dr. Perry opens secrets of structured procrastination as an art of making procrastination work for our benefit. According to him, regular procrastinators just avoid doing things and are rarely busy with some really useful things and tasks. If they have something important to do, they’d rather do gardening or cleaning their apartment. Regular procrastination is linked to an irresistible desire to procrastinate with doing something very important, and there’s no procrastinator on earth who would go in for cleaning or gardening in case if those tasks are the most important for them for the moment.

Structured procrastination is a more complex thing. It is based on manipulating with the tasks of the top importance and the tasks which are a bit less important for the moment. At that, those who can find the balance perfectly well can earn much of success and recognition. Here’s an example: a teacher who gets sickened of getting ready for his lectures and checking out student’s essays chooses to spend a lot of time with his family and gains a reputation of a perfect father. He manages to keep up with his professional activities as well, however, usually spends only minimal efforts on that.

The specifics of structured procrastination is finding a moment when the most important tasks which the procrastinator tends to avoid doing, become less important and start having less meaning for the moment. For example, if you need to pick apples in October and November, but November is also the time for picking oranges, then for structured procrastinator picking apples in November will be a great deal! That is how it is possible to have things done in the framework of structured procrastination. And if you managed to master an art of “picking the right sorts of projects to the top of the list”, structured procrastination can work great and even bring more success to our life.

Or, there’s another typical situation. You are watching your favorite Martha Stewart or Ellen DeGeneres Show. You look at your clock and see that it is time for you to start getting ready for going out for a meeting, for a lecture or for a party, but you enjoy watching the show so much and can’t find motivation to give up watching. This is a typical fight between the things we have to do and the things we truly enjoy doing, and it’s a habit of many typical latecomers to make a choice rather for the things they enjoy doing.

On the other hand, this fight does not have to be between the things we like and dislike doing. Sometimes such issues as obligation, duty, or even our instincts can come about. For example, some women can be late because they got set up for cleaning the apartment and do not want to be interrupted by anything else until the work is done. Or some bosses who tend to stay in the office long after working hours and go on working on one or another projects together with their subordinates. These people can’t stop their activities in the midstream because house cleaning or work supervising are really important things that should be done.

Therefore, those chronic latecomers who tend to listen to their impulses and mostly go in for what they enjoy or are obliged to do should learn interrupt their impulses. Sometimes it is connected with being more disciplined, sometimes it is connected with training their willpower. If you are the one who can’t stop doing the things you enjoy, the way to train your willpower can be practicing stopping your favorite entertaining or relaxing activities for a short while in order for your brain to get used to the idea of the interruption. Doing this everyday can help you be more focused on the things you have to do instead of doing what you like doing.

For example, you want to start doing exercises every day and give yourself a word to get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning and exercise. In your mind, you start picturing how your body is becoming more fit and stronger, and you are set up for positive results and new exciting changes in your life. However, when the alarm rings in the morning, you start thinking: “No, why so early? I’ll stay in the bed for just 5 more minutes, it is so warm here.. Well, I’d better exercise in the evening…” And, when you come back home in the evening after hard working day, what kind of exercise can you think about? Especially when it is your favorite show on the TV…

This goes on and on day by day. Every time you have some important problems to solve and things to do which will distract you from making important steps on the way to your goals. We repeat to ourselves that “we have no time for this now”, and in many situations, this way we avoid positive changes. Sometimes we get really used to all these bad things in our life and we are not trying to do anything to change our life for better. I know a lot of such people who go on complaining about their life, but when I offer several solutions for their problems, they just say that they do not have time for that. Therefore, they avoid the things that can change their life for better.

This way, our excuses make us give up solving our problems, that leads to personal degradation, depression, psychological disorders and so on. Our problems multiply and turn into real troubles. What to do? How to get out of this circle? You should look for power in yourself. If you really want to change something in your life, you can always do that. You will destroy your obstacles and achieve your goals no matter what. Do not think that tomorrow (the next week or the next month) you will have more time and opportunities to solve your problem. It is only one of those good-old excuses. What can hold you from making at least a little step to solving your problem right now?

Do those little steps and fight against your laziness, your apathy, uncertainty, fears and hesitations. It is always easier to postpone and procrastinate, but your problem will not be solved this way. When we are trying to solve our problems and overcome obstacles, we develop and progress. If you have a problem, you always have power and means for solving it. When you overcome the obstacle and solve your problem, you are becoming stronger and more powerful. The obstacles we overcome give us power! Remember this all the time, remember that you are a strong person and remember that there is always the way out!