Overcoming ProcrastinationSample

Understanding Procrastination

Have you ever heard the tongue-in-cheek misquoting of Ben Franklin’s quote about working today and not putting things off for tomorrow? It goes, “Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?” This is the procrastinator’s grand logic! It goes nicely with their favorite phrase: “I’ll do it tomorrow!”

In its most basic sense, procrastination is simply the intentional act of delaying something. For many of us, the temptation to procrastinate comes when we have a large project we don’t want to start, a hard conversation we don’t want to have, or a boring chore we don’t want to do. If you’re not sure if you’re a procrastinator, then ask yourself how often you put things off until tomorrow, next week, or the undefined time frame of “later.”

As common and harmless as procrastination may seem, Scripture gives us stern warnings about what procrastination can lead to: poverty, ruin, and even death. You may be thinking, “Whoa, that seems a bit extreme!” In most cases, maybe it is, but the point is that God wants better for us than procrastination. He doesn’t want us to miss today’s opportunities because we’re “I’ll do it tomorrow” people. He wants us to overcome procrastination and do our best with what we put our hands to. God wants us to enjoy the gratification that comes from work done well and on time. This kind of work can actually make a positive change in the world and those we interact with.

A final thought on procrastination for today: it may be helpful to think of procrastination as a matter of stewardship. If we consider the time God has given us as a gift, then we should do our best to honor God with our time. Procrastinating may give us the immediate gratification of putting a task off for another time but also wastes valuable time. What if your choice to procrastinate today causes you to miss an opportunity you would have tomorrow? What if working on that project, having the conversation, or starting the research paper is the best way to steward the 24 hours you were given today?

Thought of the Day: I will do my best to do today what I’d rather put off for tomorrow. I will do this not just to be more productive but also to be a better steward of the 24 hours God has given me today.