Are you usually on time with your Christmas shopping and Christmas cards or are you the type who dithers around when faced with an overwhelming task?

Perhaps you need to learn the importance of taking swift action. Perhaps you need to learn and apply one or two techniques which will help you take that action.

The following might help!

Brian Tracy, the great American motivational speaker, talks of the power of swift action in the battles of Alexander the Great. Alexander moved so fast that his troops had no time to feel afraid.

Outnumbered at the battle of Issus, he charged straight in off the march. The Persian army were taking it easy expecting him to settle down before he attacked. His surprise attack worked and a great victory was won.

The person who moves fast can have the fun of continually surprising both themselves and others with the speed and extent of their achievements. Momentum is on their side and they often achieve ten times as much as the person who is still pondering and missing the opportunities.

Alexander did not settle his tired troops down and work out a detailed plan in the light of what could be seen of the army of Darius across the river. He simply acted with stunning courage and confidence and, above all, speed. With 20,000 men, Alexander overcame 50,000.

Julius Caesar also astonished his enemies by the speed of his movement. His troops would appear when the opposition thought they were still miles away. In the end his speed of movement made the battle easier to win and energy was saved.

The famous saying of Caesar Veni, Vidi, Vici - I came, I saw, I conquered - sums up his get on with it attitude.

Speed generates energy and excitement and everyone including you can see the progress and feel the enthusiasm of a project that is moving swiftly to its conclusion.

You can start quickly and then slow down," commented Alan Hansen as Portugal lost their first match against Greece in Euro 2004, the great soccer competition hosted by Portugal. Greece had started quickly and were two goals up before Portugal got going. Portugal did score one goal but, by then, time had run out for them and they had lost. The Greeks were, of course, ecstatic.

Clive Woodward (now Sir Clive) coached the England team that won the World Cup (in Rugby Union) in 2003. He had been a great player himself and was determined to be a great coach.

He put much of this success down to the captaincy of Martin Johnson, the giant forward. Clive talks about his conversations with Martin in which Martin would say very little.

However, Martin would usually end the conversation by shrugging his shoulders and saying: Lets just get on with it.

Just getting on with the job and thus finishing it quickly is rare. The person who does this regularly stands out a mile from many of the human race who dither and delay and take ages to begin and then finish any project.

Look at how long it took to start rebuilding Wembley Stadium, the great soccer venue in London. Five years of dithering took place before a decision was made to rebuild.

If the decision had been made earlier and they had just got on with building it, the stadium would have been ready now and the costs would have been far less. In fact, they might already have been paid off by now from the audiences that would have paid for their seats at great footballing events.

The stadium was supposed to be ready for a big final in 2006 but no one is yet sure whether it will be completed.

People who procrastinate about buying promising shares miss out on the huge profits which often follow a quick and correct buying decision. Those who delay selling their shares in a bear market make huge losses. They should have just got on with it.

Brian Tracy would advise ditherers to repeat to themselves the phrase Do it now! Do it now! over and over again. This does not allow the brain to think of all the more immediately pleasurable alternatives to doing it now. It also stops the brain worrying about the size of the task.

Faced with Christmas shopping and writing large numbers of cards, or some other huge task, try saying 'Do it now!" over and over again or, if you prefer "Get on with it now!" "Get on with it now!"

At the very least, make a start on just one small task. Buy one present. Send one card. Soon, you will be saying, like Caesar, 'Vene, Vidi, Vici'.