Never do things by halves

This is similar to "never put off till tomorrow what you can do today".

Procrastination is the habit of delaying and avoiding things you know ought to be done. Work study experts will tell you that double handling is a waste of time. Putting tools and materials away only to be brought out again to do a bit more means a lot of dead time; so it is better to finish a job if possible rather than do part of it more than once.

Task switching is another stressful time waster. People who use their PCs a lot probably find they have need of many skills, and they jump from one to the other. This requires a different part of the brain, and some time to adjust and remember.

"Chunking" is one answer where you identify a section of a task and focus entirely on that till it is completed.

We hate delay, yet it makes us wise

As we rush around our lives wishing we had more time there are occasions when forces outside our control bring us to a crashing halt. It is frustrating, annoying and sometimes quite maddening; if only the passing hours could be bottled and used when we needed them.

The advocates of positive thinking and right mental attitude will tell us to see adversity as an opportunity -- to turn the negative into the positive. So how do we apply that to this saying.

Compelled to stop what we are doing whilst waiting for something or someone can give a good opportunity for reflection -- time to think about your life and purposes, to evaluate your hurry, and consider opportunities. It is said that Edgar Rice Burrows, delayed on a train trip, spent the time reading a cheap novel. He threw it down in disgust saying: "I could do better myself." Then the idea came to him: "Why not?" He took his own advice and went on to write the world famous "Tarzan" books.

The time to stop and think should be included in all our daily activities but it seldom is and often it is only when forced to a halt by chance do we get the opportunity. So the next time you are unwillingly delayed try a spot of positive thinking, and see if you can bring about an improvement in your life. Every cloud has a silver lining -- just take the time to look for it.