I’m a big fan of what I like to call productive procrastination. I don’t care how organized and disciplined you are, sometimes you just don’t want to do the things you know you need to do. You’re tired, bored, and just generally not in the mood.

When that happens, I don’t fight it (unless I have an unmovable deadline). Instead, I allow myself to procrastinate – but I do it productively. That means I use the time to accomplish tasks that need to get done, but that don’t require my fullest attention. I keep lists of these sorts of things for home and work.

For example, at work, I might procrastinate productively by doing some filing or by updating the website I manage or by doing similar tasks that are somewhat tedious, but absolutely essential.

At home, I might procrastinate by clearing programs off my DVR or reading old magazines or shredding documents or crafting.

If you struggle with procrastination, try to take some time to identify the things in your life that you can accomplish when the procrastination bug bites.