Waiting Till The Last Minute

For the last three nights in a row, I have written the posts for this blog pretty late in the evening. Matter of fact, on both Sunday and Monday, I finished the blog at about 11:59 p.m, one minute before I usually set them to auto post. One night just as I was about to climb into bed, I said to you Daddy, "Oh no, I haven't written a blog for the kids!" His response was, "They won't notice right away. Do it in the morning." But I had made a promise to do one a day and like to have it ready by midnight. I believe I missed my deadline only once. So instead of going to bed, at 11:30 that night, I began to write. And got it done in the nick of time. That, my children, is procrastinating.

When Anton was facetiming with Kayla last night he asked us to pray for her, saying she was under a lot of stress. "She has a test, a five page paper and some article summaries to do tonight." "Tonight?!" we exclaimed, noticing it was after 9 p.m. When I asked her what she thought I should blog about this evening she said, "Procrastination."

I am the queen of procrastination. I tend to push most things off to the last minute. Usually it's because I have other things going that take priority, but the truth of the matter is, I tend to do better under pressure. Of course, the entire time I am under pressure I am cursing under my breath that I wish I had started this or that earlier.

Wikipedia's definition of procrastination is "the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the "last minute" before a deadline." If that was a correct definition of procrastination, than I am not the queen after all, because I tend to prioritize when accomplishing tasks, even it if does push other tasks off. At Dictionary.com, it says procrastination is "the act or habit of putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention." Both of these definitions state something needs immediate attention and is being put off. And oftentimes, those things pushed back tend to be late and done with less attention to detail, producing a substandard product. So there is little wisdom in delaying. To quote Benjamin Franklin: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today." The Bible calls a procrastinator a "sluggard," implying laziness.The Bible is very clear about planning, preparing, not delaying, being ready and doing what you promise immediately. We are even told "Do not boast about tomorrow, for your do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1). 

So my children, those things you promise to do for one another (like the shorts Brad asked me to sew about a week ago), don't just leave it there. Complete it. Don't leave the dirty clothes on the floor. You know they need to either be in the hamper or in the laundry room, so do it now. Don't wait till you have a basket of laundry overflowing with folded clothes to put away. Put them away now. Don't leave the dishes piling up in the sink. Wash them now. Don't let weeks of dust and dirt accumulate on the shelves and in the carpet. Take care of it now. But even more important ... don't put off quiet time with the Lord. This especially you need to do early and often. So prioritize and set about accomplishing what needs to get done. You will get far more accomplished with greater efficiency, thoroughness and planning ... and probably be far less stressed.

Discussion: Do you procrastinate? If so, what are things that could help you plan and prioritize. Tell about a time when procrastination cost you. Tell about a time when getting a job done early and quickly benefited you.

Prayer: Father, we do not want to bury our talent in the sand, but rather be proactive, diligent, timely and successful. Lord, we pray we do all things as if serving you for your glory. Help us to keep our commitments and get things done selflessly with respect to other's needs. In Jesus, Amen.

st about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Procrastination#sthash.TDx5GJHV.dpuf

Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Procrastination#sthash.TDx5GJHV.dpuf