Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
- the car isn't washed
- the bills aren't paid
- there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
- the flowers don't have enough water,
- there is still only 1 check in my checkbook,
- I can't find the remote,
- I can't find my glasses,
- and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Before you look for your watch


Listen to thisvideo Gotta Get My Stuff Done about procrastination.

Is your procrastination hindering you? Ten things you should know but are likely to postpone to gain insight on any time soon

Measure My Procrastination

Procrastination is pervasive, and it concerns us. At least 95% of us procrastinate at least occasionally and about 15-20% of us do it consistently and problematically. Also, there are historical records of people procrastinating going back at least 3,000 years. Unfortunately, very little is understood about why we put off doing until later what we think we should actually be doing right now.

To address this need, researchers at the University of Calgary have been exploring the problem of procrastination. To continue this work, we need you and people like you to complete the following study. You will get some feedback about your procrastination at the end and what you can do about it.

This feedback is based on research we and other researchers have previously conducted over the last thirty years and should be quite accurate. You can choose to exit the study at any time, but you will only get your feedback by answering all the questions. With your participation, we should be able to continue to improve our understanding of this common but somewhat mysterious phenomenon.

All the information you give is privacy protected and anonymously computer-scored. You are the only person who will be physically able to connect your score to your name. If this research interests you, please click the button below.

Pure Procrastination
This is a series of questions about procrastination, each answered on a five-point scale (i.e., "Not true or me" to "True of me"). In all, it takes only about 20-25 minutes to complete and you will get feedback about your procrastination at the end.

If at first you don't succeed, quit!
Blame it on Bush.
Get Million$ from FEMA.
Write a book.
Retire a rich, happy failure.