Procrastination is Simply Rescheduling Success

On the first day of grad school, I really hit it off with one of the professors.  He asked me, “Do you want to know the secret to success both in this program and after graduating? The real secret to creating wealth.” My eyes lit up and I smiled as I said, “YES!” He said, “No matter what, don’t save for tomorrow what you can do today.”  I was a bit surprised by the advice and very disappointed. That’s it? Manage stuff today and avoid using saran wrap? 

Back then, I’d write my to-do list on an index card and carry it around with me all week…sometimes all month.  When classes would let up early and friends would suggest happy hour, I’d use that time to look at my list and see if there was anything I could accomplish before stepping into the bar.  Productive? Nope. Did it give me peace of mind that I wasn’t saving for tomorrow what I could do before calling it a day and enjoying a margarita? Yes. Was I lying to myself? ABSOLUTELY!

For years, I was frustrated with what I called an average life.  I had much bigger dreams for myself. People who knew me well knew that I was capable of more but I was stuck and that was that.  Dreams remained as dreams, the to-do lists were scraps of paper that morphed into trash, and all that changed were the lines on my face.

The first time I heard someone tell me that procrastination is simply rescheduling success, I was stunned.  It’s absolutely true and so obvious! Want to be successful? Get your shit done now!

There is no arguing the fact that getting a term paper done early gives time to create a better product.  Networking sooner rather than later creates a bigger network. Even working out today, will eventually lead to a stronger and healthier tomorrow.

Can you imagine if farmers smiled sheepishly and said that they like to procrastinate?  We’d all starve, and nobody would find it charming. If anything, your hangry self would be pissed off and claim that they should be embarrassed for sleeping in and not getting their work done.

In J.M. Power’s words, “If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.”  So, get up, and get things done now.