Within the writing community the idea of procrastination being a normal obstacle writers have to get over before starting work writing every day is a general running joke. There have been many articles advising you how to enjoy your procrastination or how to avoid or contain it. Now I admit I have to get in the mood to write before I actually get down to writing fiction, but normally writing non-fiction requires no such effort, I just write. However I have always been a little amused by the idea of serious procrastination and was grateful that I enjoyed writing and that it was the most important thing in my day.

But recently I have discovered that I am a severe sufferer from a slightly different variety of the illness. For want of a better name I have called it Reverse Procrastination, the symptoms of it are very simple. You live…