New study finds procrastination is warded off by
considering tasks in concrete terms. 
Although procrastination
is usually thought of as something to be avoided, this hasn't always been
the case. Surveying the history of procrastination Dr Piers Steel finds that
before the industrial revolution procrastination might have been seen in neutral
terms (Steel, 2007;
PDF).
...
Psychologists have found that college students consider themselves champion procrastinators with almost half considering it problematic. Adults are not far behind with some 15-20% self-identifying as 'chronic procrastinators'. Meanwhile the rest of us are guaranteed to procrastinate from time to time. So, perhaps psychology can offer some hope in the ongoing fight against procrastination.
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Who would have thought pointillism could save us from procrastination?
Summary: how to get things done
- To avoid procrastinating on a task, focus on its details and use self-imposed deadlines.
- To stick to a task, while actually carrying it out, now it is beneficial to keep the ultimate, abstract goal in mind.
- When evaluating progress on a hard task, when the chance of failure is high, stay focused on the details of the task.
- Once tasks are easier or the end is in sight, a more abstract, goal focus is once again the psychological approach to choose.