It took a month of hard work but it was worth it.

THE AUDIT – National compliance for a national service, no getting around it.

How I stopped worrying and learned to love the audit…

• The house was cleaned within an inch of its life;
• Those damnable blackberries, once the bane of my life, were lifted, carted, destroyed and the garden pristine;
• The paper stack, once a large unruly tower in the shed threatening to topple, was tamed;
• The eyebrows neatly tucked, plucked and tidied, frame my face as they always should;
• The once onerous task of wardrobe declutter, seemed a joy;

And they were just maintenance issues… I also managed to deal with:

• Fixing the kitchen cupboards,
• New, better, spot for bins,
• Arranged carpet cleaners,
• and window cleaners,
• Got guys in to fix the door handles and locks,
• Conducted an annual planning process,
• Set out on new website revamp…

Though I knew I was in trouble when I found myself with a paint brush in my hand – time to wise up, when was that bloody audit?

Avoidance, procrastination, delay, distraction, re-sheduling, carelessness, re-prioritising, idleness – whatever you call it, it works out the same. Why do it today when you have until the last minute – even then you can usually squeeze a bit more – get an extension, take a sickie, forget to include an important bit (they’ll chase you up later), it goes on for those experienced in the art. And it always works out doesn’t it? Always gets done?

My lesson was learnt alright – the only thing that gets my life on track is a good deadline! As Anon said perfectly “The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.”

I challenge the non-procrastinators to stop swanning about in their “look at me I got it done early” fashion, and bow to the power of the procrastinators – who not only get it done everytime, but get everything else done as well!

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