Monday, May 14, 2018

Procrastinatus


Procrastinatus

I grew up with “don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” I have tried to live by that motto. Realizing that putting off a project, a chore, a decision until a later date can be a recipe for disaster, I kept trying to not let things slide. I think it was easier to do when I was younger.

The word procrastinate literally means to put off till another day. The procrastinator’s mantra is “don’t do today what you can put off till tomorrow.” Those tasks that I enjoy get done right away: walking the dog, hunting gophers, meeting friends for coffee are enjoyable; no need to put them off. Paying bills, going to the dentist, stepping on the scale can always wait till tomorrow.

The problem is I am running out of tomorrows. There is no guarantee that I will have a tomorrow let alone the fact I am getting older by the day. Speaking of getting older, I find that it takes more energy (mental and physical) to do stuff.
Procrastination is working against me. If I need to get something done I better do it today while I still have the energy.

I have made a bucket list for this summer. They are four things I have procrastinated about for some time. I am going to play two golf courses: one at Big Sky and the other The Works in Anaconda. I am going to ride my hybrid bike on the Rails to Trails, a fourteen-mile ride on the roadbed of the old Hiawatha Railway on the Montana – Idaho boarder. If I survive all of that I am going to hike Sacajawea peak, the highest point in the Bridger Mountains.

Even with my good intentions I am reminded of this caveat from the Bible: “Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.”

That’s true.

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