Shortcuts - The Popular Practice of Putting Stuff Off - NYTimes.com

Shortcuts - The Popular Practice of Putting Stuff Off - NYTimes.com: "Procrastination is nothing new. Academics cite references to it in early Roman and Greek military documents and 15th-century religious texts denouncing it as a sin. But with the advent of all our new distracting technology, including e-mail, cellphones and social networking sites, it has become easier and easier to spend countless hours avoiding doing what we should be doing.

“How often have we said, ‘We’ll check e-mail, it’ll only take a minute,’ and three hours later we’re still on it?” Professor Pychyl asked. “Technology provides us with immediate rewards without moving from our seats. We know that 50 percent of the time people are online, they are procrastinating.”"