A brief history of procrastination – and how you can overcome it

Egyptologists have deciphered hieroglyphics that tell people off for dawdling. Is there a cure for this age-old human curse?

Back in 1830, what would later become one of French literature’s most famous novels was just a whole load of blank pages. A year earlier, Victor Hugo had been commissioned to write The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but instead had frittered the time away with other pursuits, and now his publishers had just given him a six-month deadline to finish the book.

To force himself to knuckle down, he locked away his own clothes – apparently apart from a large knitted shawl – leaving him unable to go out in public, meaning he had no other option than to stay home and write. His sartorial strategy worked: The Hunchback of Notre Dame was published two weeks ahead of schedule on 14 January 1831.

The Galaxy Z Fold6

Supercharged multitasking with Galaxy AI

Feel free to enjoy JoP – the joys of procrastination – with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 as the Galaxy AI features mean multitasking and organising your life are all a simple swipe away. From Transcript Assist, which can easily turn meetings into detailed notes, colour-coded for each speaker, to Note Assist, which boasts a spot-on translation service as well as making things look aesthetically pleasing through creative formatting on any notes jotted down with the S Pen, all the tools needed to get a job done well are in your palm. There’s no guarantee it can sort your whole life out, but it’s a very good place to start.