Hi, I'm Scott. . .

. . .and I'm a chronic procrastinator.

I just turned 50 and procrastination has been a problem for me at least since Jr. High School. I have done work with a therapist for anxiety, and I'm on anti-depressants, and this has helped some. But every now and then I still get into situations where I let things slip because I'm too anxious to think about them, and the more they slip the more anxious I get. When I do try to sit down and do the work I'm very highly distractable. This keeps up until the project reaches a crisis point and the fear of failure makes me finally focus and get the job done, usually late or at the last possible minute. When it's over, I usually think, "Well, that wasn't so bad. Why have I been torturing myself over this? Why didn't I just do it?" But that doesn't prevent the cycle from happening again.

I am in another 12-step program for addiction, and it recently occured to me -- after another hideous two weeks of this -- that what I am is powerless over procrastination. The steps have taught me that admitting powerlessness and reaching out for help is the beginning of recovery. I've talked about this anxiety-procrastination cycle in my meetings, but that's not the focus of the meetings. So I looked up "procrastinators anonymous" on line and among all the joke sites found something that looks like the real thing. I hope that by reaching out --virtually, at least -- to other chronic procrastinators that I can get some of the same support I get in my 12 step meetings. I'm glad to be here.

 -- Scott