If you are like me, you have a tendency to put off until tomorrow what you could do today. In his book, "The Time Trap: How to Get More Done in Less Time", R. Alec Mackenzie says procrastination is "... a close relative of incompetence and a handmaiden of inefficiency." Ouch. I hope that got your attention.

Mackenzie defines procrastination as deliberately avoiding an unpleasant task. So, he is not talking about forgetfulness, although I think the forgetful person may sometimes get accused of procrastination.

Chin-Ning Chu, author of "Thick Face, Black Heart: The Path To Thriving, Winning & Succeeding", takes a very different tact. She says, "When it is applied properly, procrastination can be a great asset." She goes on to explain that "Sometimes problems have a way of working themselves out. The more we try to fix them, the worse they get. That is the time to procrastinate a little and let time do its work." As an example, if somebody is angry with you, maybe they need to be left alone for a while until emotions have cooled a bit.

However, assuming that we are talking about a situation where you do not expect a problem to just go away if you wait long enough, here is a list of guidelines which Mackenzie borrows from Norman Vincent Peale:

1. Pick one area where procrastination plagues you - and conquer it.

2. Learn to set priorities and focus on one problem at a time.

3. Give yourself deadlines.

4. Don't duck the most difficult problems.

5. Don't let perfectionism paralyze you.

These are a good set of guidelines, but they are missing one element that I think Ms. Chu has enlightened. She says, "In past decades, the idea that we need to change our negative attitudes to positive ones before we can succeed has been pounded into us. If you learn only one thing from reading this book, it should be that you can succeed the way you are."

The simple fact of the matter is that the guidelines and time management practices of Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Peale will only work if you have the right attitude. The fact that you are a procrastinator probably means that you already know that you do not have the attitude that it would take to follow such a formula for success. Oh, you might try it for a while, but eventually you will slide back into your old habits, because that is your personality.

Richard Branson has said that one of the secrets of his success is that he always has a Plan B. He calls this "taking care of the down side." Kirk Kerkorian is another very successful businessman who uses the same method.

Several years ago, I learned in a training course with Neal Whitten, author of "Managing Software Development Projects", how to apply this idea to the problem of procrastination. He said that if you tend to procrastinate, you should always have a Plan B.

The application is very simple. If you have a work assignment due on Monday, you know you really should plan to have it done by Friday. However, since you know that you tend to procrastinate, your Plan B might be to cancel whatever plans you have on Sunday and finish it then. Of course, you do not want to cancel Sunday's plans, so just the act of thinking of Plan B may motivate you to finish on time instead. If not, there is no reason to stress, because you have already made the plans.

Plan B is not generally the best approach, but in the end it is preferable to the task not getting done. In addition, you may sometimes find that the extra time you have taken has allowed you to come up with an innovative solution that is actually better than your original Plan A.

Of course, having contingency plans is something that is good for many other areas of life, so it is interesting that it does not get mentioned in a book on time management. The reason, I think, is that time management gurus see procrastination as so evil that they would never suggest that a person actually plan for it.

However, it is important to know yourself and take your own path to success rather than letting down yourself and others because you tried to live according to some standard that is not practical for you. In fact, part of being trustworthy is being honest with yourself. That might mean planning for your own procrastination and even at times using it as a positive strategy for success.

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