Your exams are imminent, you've only got three days left to do some serious revision and nail down the history of the manhole cover - so what are you doing in the kitchen cleaning behind the back of the fridge?! Now that's something you'd never do in a million years, usually, but out of the blue the opportunity and the means have arisen to get that particular area behind the fridge nice and clean and the books upstairs can wait.

Well there you have it - procrastination. It's that (sometimes unconsciously) deliberate attempt to avoid doing something which really has to be done but which you really can't be bothered to do. Other examples include getting the tea and coffee at work, reading your email and watching the television rather than washing up.

Yes, procrastination is the art of putting off until tomorrow what could be done today. The ultimate aim of the procrastinator is to put off a task long enough so someone else will take on the job for them. It is most prevalent among students and men shopping for Christmas presents¹ though it can also be seen in authors who would take years to finish writing their latest novel and anyone else who doesn't really like their job.

Naturally, there's plenty more to say on this topic. We just can't be bothered at the moment to write it all down.