Open cloze
For questions 1-8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
Most of us know the feeling: an important task needs doing, there is plenty of time to do it, and yet we would 1. clean the oven than make a start. For a long time, procrastination was put 2. to laziness or poor time management. Researchers now believe, however, that it has far 3. to do with our emotions than with our ability to organise ourselves. We avoid certain tasks not because we cannot plan, but because they make us feel anxious, bored or inadequate. Putting them off brings instant relief, but the task does not go away, and 4. closer the deadline gets, the worse we tend to feel. 5. this reason, simply buying a better diary is unlikely to help. Psychologists suggest instead making the first step as small 6. possible: writing one sentence, say, or opening the right file. Once a task is under 7., it often turns out to be far less daunting than we had imagined. It also pays to be kind to ourselves. People who forgive themselves for past delays are, it seems, less likely to procrastinate 8. future.