A close cousin to last week’s topic — poor finishers — is poor starters. This can occur on a personal as well as national level.

It was with interest and alarm that I read a Sept. 22 article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser headlined "New Delhi not ready for prime-time games."

Held every four years, the Commonwealth Games brings together more than 7,000 athletes from 71 countries and territories. Scheduled to run from yesterday to Oct. 14, this was supposed to be India’s showcase and a possible springboard to hosting a future Olympic Games.

Aug. 1 was the original deadline for completion of facilities. But "less than two weeks before it begins, one of the world’s biggest sports events is in jeopardy as organizers struggle to cope with unfinished buildings, a filthy athletes’ village … a bridge collapse, concerns about security and an outbreak of dengue fever."

How and why did this happen? Buried near the end of the story was an explanation: "New Delhi, India’s capital … was chosen to host the 19th edition of the Commonwealth Games in November 2003. Between then and 2008 the country did little to prepare."

In other words, for five years little was done, leaving the organizing committee just two years to prepare for this major event.

I could feel India’s pain and panic, for I am no stranger to the last-minute rushed frenzy.

While there are many factors involved in India’s situation, we alone are responsible for procrastination in our personal lives. Who among us hasn’t procrastinated on starting tasks large or small, only to engage in a stressful last-minute frenzy of activity?

If a newspaper story were to be written about you and your procrastinated project, how would it read? Would it be front-page news? Is there something right now that you should have started? Why not get started now?

Next week I’ll share some lessons to be learned from India’s predicament.

Ruth Wong owns Organization Plus. Her column runs the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Contact her by e-mail at orgplushawaii@hawaiiantel.net.