Procrastination is defined as the intentional and habitual avoidance of necessary tasks. It’s often followed by rationalization, and accompanied by feelings of guilt, inadequacy and depression.

That sounds ridiculously familiar: I picked up my mail on Monday and got around to reading it Wednesday. What looked like junk mail was actually a notice informing me that transfer applications to a prospective East Coast university were due on March 1. Crap.

Procrastination is why I didn’t apply to East Coast universities directly from high school, like I’d planned since conception. And now, procrastination is why I feel those universities slipping further away from me every day — along with the rest of my life.

I’ve got quizzes, midterms, essays, and assignments all due or overdue. And those transfer applications aren’t writing themselves. My “to-do” lists are so overwhelming; I feel like I’m losing control. With all the work that I have already missed or put off, I have to work five times as hard for the rest of the semester.

This is my life, and I’m screwing it up. But instead of doing something about it, I grunt, whine, stress until I’m sick to my stomach, resign myself to failure, think of an excuse, go to sleep, rinse and repeat.

Reasons vary as to why people procrastinate. My own problem is the result of task anxiety, perfectionism, poor time management, indecisiveness and rationalization (phew, is that all?). Other students may have difficulty concentrating, find their tasks boring, or have self-doubt causing them to feel that they can’t do anything right. Although poor time management is a common culprit, we can learn skills that will solve this problem. But if you’re like me, you know these skills and simply don’t use them. Maybe tomorrow, right?

Wrong. This is a sign that there’s a larger problem at hand. Obviously, procrastination affects school work, but it also affects your health. There is an extremely high level of stress associated with chronic procrastination.

I’m bombarded with assignments and completely overwhelmed, but why? At one point, I had adequate time. But that was the point when I replaced important tasks with lesser ones, such as cleaning the apartment or doing an extra credit assignment. I created all-encompassing “to-do” lists comprising so many tasks that I didn’t even take my lists seriously. I told myself that leaving the essay until Sunday is a good idea because I work better under pressure. Ring a bell?

University of Virginia psychologist William Knaus, author of “Do It Now,” estimates that 90 percent of college students procrastinate. Of these students, 25 percent are chronic procrastinators and are usually the ones who drop out of college. This sounds drastic, but I believe it: I felt ambitious and optimistic before school began, taking 15 units this semester even though I only need three units to transfer as a junior. Now, if I could drop 12 units, I would. Dropping out altogether has also occurred to me.

OK, let’s not do anything we’ll regret. There’s help out there for chronic procrastination, and it can be found in the same place where you found the material for all those last-minute assignments: the Internet. Practically every university has recognized procrastination and developed Web sites and resources for students. Sacramento State’s psychological services office offers counseling for academic performance anxiety and procrastination, as well as information online about task avoidance. One of the best suggestions is setting realistic goals, such as a small amount of daily writing or a set time each day for school work.

Lists are never a bad idea because it’s good to have a visual key of tasks at hand; crossing ‘bake brownies’ off the list gives me a feeling of accomplishment. But instead of writing down every conceivable thing that you can accomplish (including “watch made-for-TV-movie” and “bake brownies,”), write specific, realistic goals for one day.

If “TO-DAY” lists aren’t good enough for you, then there’s always hypnosis. That’s right — someone will do all the work for you. At www.iamsolazy.com, hypnotist Wendi Friesen has over 100 videos, CD-ROM’s and training programs to hypnotize you out of procrastinating. If you’re looking for something a little less strange, the campus library also has multiple sources on the subject, including literature on the psychological aspects of procrastination.

Whatever you do, do it now. Your life can’t wait until tomorrow.