A client recently told me that he suffers from ‘last minute-itis’. In other words, he puts everything off until the last minute: from preparing for a presentation to packing for a trip.

In the best Dr. Phil voice that I could muster, I asked, “So how’s that workin’ for ya?”

As I suspected, in many ways it was working for him. Yes, this approach made things harder for those around him, and he ends up sacrificing more personal time than he wants to, and his stress level tends to be higher than ideal. But at the end of the day, he is still able to get things done.   And a lot done at that. By most accounts, he is a widely successful individual.

Changing our ways is hard at the best of times. But when the consequences of ‘last minute-itis’ are not that great, it is hard to break the habit.

Sometimes, other people almost give us too much of a break when we miss deadlines. We avoid penalties, when really we probably could benefit from a penalty once in awhile.

In these situations, we need to set our own standards. What does a deadline mean to you? Even if ignoring a deadline is essentially ‘penalty-free’, are you still going to do it? Your professional reputation, impact on others, personal life and stress level are on the line after all.

Focusing on getting things done sooner rather than later takes commitment and discipline. Are you up for the challenge?