I am a procrastinator. I admit it. I get all of my work done on time and in good quality, but I will wait until the last possible moment to finish it. Over at Dumb Little Man: Tips for Life, there is a great article to help those of you (and me) who procrastinate to get things done (when we really have to).

I will add one additional item to the list.

Set an aggressive deadline
If your boss says, “I need this 5 page report by the end of the week,” guess what? You’ll wait until Thursday to start it. If your boss said, “I need this 5 page report in 2 hours,” guess what? You’ll get it done in two hours. The task is the same but due to the criticality of the need, you get the work done on time. A former boss once said to me, “a task expands or contracts depending on the perceived urgency of the task.”

If you procrastinate because you “work better under pressure,” then set an aggressive deadline for yourself. If it is Monday and the task is due Friday, set the deadline for Wednesday. This cannot work in all instances but I’ve found it helpful and useful.