by Cathy Manson

You really should finish compiling[編輯] that boring spreadsheet[電子數(shù)據(jù)表]， but you just cant bring yourself to do it. Maybe it can wait a little longer？ Or it might just disappear if you ignore it long enough？ You know the feeling.

According to Professor Piers Steel， of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary， 95% of people postpone important tasks at some point. But for some， procrastination isnt occasional， but incessant[不斷的] and disruptive[破壞性的]. Professor Joseph Ferrari， of DePaul University Chicago， found that 20% of the population of the world are chronic[慢性的] procrastinators. Sadly， delaying our duties isnt very good for us： task-avoiders are less happy， less healthy and less wealthy than people who tackle tasks immediately.

We like to tell ourselves that we work better under pressure， when a deadline is looming. But the truth is that working at the last minute is counterproductive： we make more mistakes； our behaviour annoys[使煩惱，騷擾] other people and we end up feeling guilty and ashamed. Worse still， we risk wasting a significant portion[一部分] of our life putting off tasks that will only come back to haunt[常在腦中出現(xiàn)] us later. As the poet Edward Young wrote： “Procrastination is the thief of time”.

Piers Steel gives us some advice to help us confront important tasks. He suggests breaking it into smaller chunks[大塊] and taking baby steps until the task at hand has been completed. Or you could give a friend ￡50 and tell them that if you dont go through with it， they can give it away to a cause[事業(yè)] or a political party you dislike[討厭].

Those who are highly-organised and efficient wont need to take heed of this advice. For everyone else： will you start following these tips and confront those urgent tasks that await you today？ Or will you stop procrastinating tomorrow… or perhaps the day after？

你真的應該完成那張枯燥的電子表格了，但你就是沒法下決心開始去做。也許這事兒能再延緩一會兒？或者如果你對它置之不理，這事兒就不了了之了。你知道這種感覺。

根據(jù)卡爾加里大學哈斯凱因商學院的皮爾斯·斯蒂爾教授的說法，百分之九十五的人在某些情況下將重要的任務推遲。然而對一些人來說，拖延并非偶爾為之，而是持續(xù)不斷且具有破壞性的。芝加哥德保爾大學的約瑟夫·法拉利教授發(fā)現(xiàn)世界上百分之二十的人拖延成性。可悲的是，推遲我們的責任對我們并不利——比起及時解決任務的人，任務逃避者們不那么開心和健康，而且也更窮一些。

當最終期限迫近時，我們喜歡告訴自己在壓力下我們能工作得更好。但是事實上在最后一分鐘工作只能起反作用：我們犯更多錯誤；我們的行為干擾了其他人，最后我們自己會感到內(nèi)疚和羞愧。更糟糕的是，我們可能會浪費掉生命中重要的一部分時間在推遲任務上，最終只會讓我們時常受此困擾，正如詩人愛德華·楊寫道：“拖延為時間之賊”。

皮爾斯·斯蒂爾給了我們一些建議，有助于我們正視重要的任務。他建議將整個任務分割成更小的各個部分，然后一步步做，直到完成手頭的任務?；蛘吣憧梢越o一個朋友50英鎊，告訴他們?nèi)绻銢]堅持過來，他們可以將這錢贈給一項事業(yè)或你不喜歡的一個政黨。

那些做事條理清晰和高效的人就不需要留意這條建議了，（而）對其他每一個人：你今天會開始聽從這些提點并正視那些等著你處理的緊急任務嗎？或者你明天會停止拖延嗎……或許還是要等到后天呢？

Quiz小測驗

選擇恰當?shù)拇鸢柑钊刖渥拥目崭裉帯?/p>

1. We had to _____________ the picnic until the following day because it was pouring down with rain！

A. take heed of B. postpone C. procrastinate D. tackle

2. I wish youd stop ______________ and just call Jonathan. You cant ignore him forever， you know！

A. putting off B. working C.confronting D. procrastinating

3. It might seem like a huge task， but just _______________ and youll get there eventually.

A. have a baby B. take baby steps C. take a baby D.take children steps

4. Anna thought about selling the house， but in the end she couldnt _______________. She loves it there.

A. complete the spreadsheet B. go through with it

C. take heed D. haunt it

5. My brother-in-law is _______________ and likes to follow a strict schedule， even when hes on holiday.

A. highly-organised B. procrastinate

C. counterproductive D. a chronic procrastinator