Procrastination

Procrastination is the putting off till tomorrow what ought to be done today. It is always a vice, since it is a sin against the sense of duty. The peculiar force of tomorrow lies in the fact that it is always in the future, and the peculiar disease of the procrastinator is his aversion to the present times as a time for action. The person is continually hoping that tomorrow may bring for him or her what today never brings, the right moment. In other words, the impetus one needs, for the defect in oneself, and not in this or that time.

This defect is generally akin to laziness. So its nature is physical, arising from a weakness of the will, which shows itself in the reluctance to make a necessary bodily effort. However, occasionally procrastination is intellectual, and is the result of a state of mental indecision which is quite compatible with strength of will and vigour of action.

Procrastination has well been defined as the “thief of time”. The proverb tells us that delays are dangerous, and it often happens that a thing which is not done at the right time cannot done at all. In a business position, the man who procrastinates causes a confusion of affairs and an accumulation of work which is never finished. He is always behind hand and always in a hurry; his habit is perpetual source of discomfort to himself and of annoyance to others. And this is in addition to the material loss which it often entails. Such a person cannot be trusted or entrusted with any business of importance.

It should be remembered that rarely, if ever, a task become easier for being deferred on account of its difficulty; and since, each day makes its own demands, in leaving today’s work to be done along with tomorrow’s, we run the risk of failure in both.