At home or away for Pesach (Passover), getting things done for this monumental holiday, be it cleaning, cooking, or shopping seems to put most people under the highest form of pressure and stress then we usually encounter the entire year!

Remember this is a special time.  You want, together with, your family and friends to remember it as such!

It has been researched and proven that stress can have a direct affect on the development and control of diabetes and diabetes health related issues.  Another good reason to put things in the right prospective and to work on keeping them there!

Maybe you tell yourself that you perform better under pressure. Or that the work you do when you’re not feeling in the mood to work isn’t very good. Or you think that you can’t do anything well unless you’re feeling at the top of your form.

Uh-oh, you’ve got the earmarks of a procrastinator. Of course, you’ve got lots of company. Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. These are people who don’t pay their bills on time, miss opportunities for buying tickets to concerts and leave Pesach (Passover) cooking for Erev Pesach (day of Passover). Let’s not even talk about income taxes!

Advance study courses seem to bring out the procrastination in people. In these situations, up to 70 percent of students identify themselves as procrastinators.

Of course, it won’t help you get things done any faster to know that procrastination isn’t good for your health. But, putting things off creates higher levels of stress and sends all those stress hormones coursing through your body, wearing it out faster. And, it puts you at risk for poor health, because you’re just as likely to delay seeking treatment for medical problems, as you are to delay everything else.

Procrastination actually weakens your immune system. It keeps you awake at night. And, it doesn’t do a thing for your relationships either. It makes loved ones resentful, because it shifts the burden of responsibilities onto them.

Procrastinators are born and not made. That’s both the good news and the bad news. Good because it’s a learned response, and what’s learned can be unlearned. The bad news is that while it’s possible to change, it takes a lot of psychic energy and you don’t necessarily feel transformed internally.

You should know that some people who think of themselves, as procrastinators really aren’t. In a world of unending deadlines, they just put too many things on their To Do list. They’re not avoiding tasks, the mark of a bona fide procrastinator. They’re getting things done, just not as many as they would like.

It’s easy to tell whether you’re a real procrastinator. According to Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at De Paul University in Chicago, real procrastinators tell themselves five lies, they:

*       Overestimate the time they have left to perform tasks

*       Underestimate the time it takes to complete tasks

*       Overestimate how motivated they will feel the next day, the next week or next month -- whenever they are putting things off to

*       Mistakenly think that succeeding at a task requires that they feel like doing it

*       Mistakenly believe that working when not in the mood or pressured will not work

*       Do things for the wrong reason

Procrastinators also actively look for distractions, especially ones that don’t take heavy-duty commitment on their part. Checking email is just about tailor-made for this purpose. The dirty little secret is that procrastinators distract themselves as a way of regulating their own emotions, such as fear of failure.

So, face it. Some tasks are never going to be thigh-slappers no matter how long they marinate on your desk. You’ve got to do them now.

How to tackle procrastination? Dr. Ferrari recommends these strategies for reducing procrastination:

*       Priorities – what comes first? Make a list of everything you have to do. Leave out the impression jobs—the things you want to do to:

-      Impress your mother-in-law

-      Impress your guests

-      Impress your neighbors

-      Impress your kids and their friends

-      Impress your husband  (maybe this one can stay in)

-      Impress yourself

*       Write a statement of intention. Know why your doing things and that you can really do it

*       Set realistic goals.

*       Break it down into specific tasks.

*       Make your task meaningful.

*      Never start a second task until the first is done

*       Promise yourself a reward.

*       Check off items that are done and eliminate tasks you never plan to do. Be honest!

*       Estimate the amount of time you think it will take you to complete a task. Then increase the amount by 100 percent.

*       REMEMBER THAT PREPARING FOR PESACH (AND ANY HOLIDAY) IS A MITZVAH (GOOD DEED) MAKE IT FUN, ENJOYABLE AND MOST OF ALL MEMORABLE!