Find yourself putting off work more often than you should be? Find yourself slogging assiduously the night before the deadline of your piece of Sejarah work, or any piece of work, emerging the morning after in a comatose state, full of a sense of foreboding and imminent trepidation at the chagrin of not having produced a propitious piece of work? Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the classic, if not ubiquitous, signs of a worldwide epidemic that is fast (and vast) encroaching- procrastination.

Is procrastination a slow form of suicide? From a seemingly broader perspective, the more you postpone your life, the less you live it, and the less you have left to live. This may sound extreme, if not overzealous. But the common perception of procrastination as a simple matter of poor time management is significantly inadequate. Procrastination is a complex behavioral pattern embodying emotional, psychological and cognitive components. It isn’t just an inefficiency- it’s a syndrome that feeds on itself.

Ironically, procrastination is an element by no means scarce among individuals like us. It is vastly known (and publicized) that Albert Einstein (yes, the world’s greatest thinker) was an avid procrastinator, a member of the cult of ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’-ers and the ‘I’m not in the mood to do it now’-ers that are so prevalent and elicit worldwide appeal. Indeed, procrastination had its own unique way of manifesting itself in the form of literature. Consider the conventional sayings we relate to such as ‘Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today’ or ‘A stitch in time saves nine’, as well as the banal English saying ‘One of these days is none of these days’. Literature contains some compelling expressions of procrastination, such as Edward Young’s 1742 line, ‘Procrastination is the thief of time’.

A notorious American psychologist once defined procrastination as “the irrational tendency to delay tasks that should be completed”. Irrational, in this sense, constitutes the lack of reason for delay, and this scenario often manifests its sadism among the (few) erudite members of our society that collectively signify our generation. There is no impediment to take action for fear of incapacity and hence refers to the senseless harm that is inflicted on one’s self by putting off something that would be of benefit to us. Senseless self harm? Premature aging and incessant stress?

If this seems overbearing, fear not, dear reader, for this encroaching epidemic can be gracefully conquered. All in 10 easy steps:

Step 1: No more excuses. Just do it. The sooner you finish it, the sooner you can spend your time whiling away the hours over your box set of Grey's Anatomy. Or pointless One Tree Hill for that matter.

Step 2: Do not succumb to distractions, however tempting they may be, e.g. the television. And yes, Gilmore Girls is considered a (tempting) distraction. (Editor’s note: Or a very productive way to spend your day.)

Step 3: Prioritize. Arrange the tasks that need to be completed in order of importance. And no, stocking up on lingerie is not a priority.

Step 4: Set incentives for your goals, if and only if you reach them, e.g. an extra hour(or two) of The OC box set you’ve been dying to watch.

Step 5: Make To Do Lists, again prioritizing your tasks to be fulfilled. Reminder: ‘Call best friend and tell her you love her’ is not a priority. (In this case)

Step 6: Organize your weekly schedule.

Step 7: Conquer anxiety. Flip out. Watch You Tube. Seriously hilarious fun.

Step 8: Progressive muscle relaxation. Close your eyes to increase concentration. Try to focus on a single object in the room. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Place your hands on your abdominal region. Breathe in slowly so that your hands are pushed out by your inhalation. Breathe out even more slowly. Continue for fifteen minutes.

Step 9: Put on some music. It is a universally acknowledged fact that music exerts a calming effect that reduces stress, distracting you from current frustrations and stimulating positive emotions. No, Guns ’n’ Roses and Metallica are not calming or stress reducing. Switch on some soothing classical music, like Bach or Mozart.

Step 10: Don’t take yourself too seriously. After all, what is life if not for living it too the full. Take a break. Have a Kit Kat. And watching Laguna Beach is, as they say, very, very therapeutic.