“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” – Benjamin Franklin

Procrastination. I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the art, thank you very much!  I’ve been meaning to start an exercise regimen.  I’ve wanted to start eating healthier.  I’ve had every intention of finishing the plethora of home DIY projects that I started weeks ago. (OK – months ago, just in case my wife reads this).

Likewise, I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for a couple of weeks now.  Like exercising, changing my diet, and the projects on my honey-do list, I’ve started, and I’ve stopped.  I’ve walked away, multiple times … and here we are. I have a deadline to meet for this blog post. It’s tomorrow.

Rita Mae Brown, an American writer and an Emmy-nominated screenwriter once quipped, “If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”  I find myself saying “amen” to her musing because I’ve worked in and around the legislature for over 20 years.  Truer words have never been spoken when it comes to dealings of the state Capitol.  I guess the same is true for me.

When I was about 12 years old, we lived “in the sticks” and we would burn our consumable paper products in a burning barrel in our backyard.  Every week, it was my job to “burn the papers.” I don’t know why I didn’t like doing it, but I always thought that I could be doing so many more productive things!

One cold and snowy December day, my mom had done half of my job for me.  She collected all the papers from around the house and placed them in a large white plastic trash bag and placed it by the door.  All I needed to do was empty its contents into the barrel and light the match.  She asked me to do just that, about six times.  She had given me a deadline – six of them – and I blew right past it with each heightened request.

Finally, when she clearly had enough of my procrastination, she lowered the proverbial boom: “get up and get it done NOW!” With the threat of “don’t make me tell your dad when he gets home.” I sensed it was probably best to comply.

Grudgingly, I took that large white plastic trash bag and my matches to the back forty and – in a show of defiance – I didn’t empty the bag into the barrel, I threw the whole thing in – plastic trash bag and all.  I’ll show HER!

I muddled to the house and returned to whatever important thing I was doing before I had been interrupted with that senseless chore.  However, moments later, my mom returned in a tizzy (that’s a technical term for deep anger).  This was now the seventh time that she had asked me, and I had rebuffed her request to burn the papers. She was furious that the large white plastic trash bag remained in its same location.

Deeply puzzled, I defended myself and informed her that I had completed the task. “Then why is the bag still there?” she begged.  I marched, arrogantly, across the house to show her that I had, indeed, done as she had asked.  She met me there – with a large white plastic trash bag full of papers!  How could this be?  I had taken a large white plastic trash bag and lit it on fire!

As it turned out, mom had also been Christmas shopping that snowy morning.  She had placed the contents of her trip in a large white plastic trash bag to conceal its contents from us kids.  A new phone for my sister’s room.  A new Lego set for me.  Some new matchbox cars for my brother. It also turned out that those Christmas presents were now ablaze in the backyard.

I learned a valuable lesson that day: mom shouldn’t hide Christmas presents in large white plastic bags.  And, I suppose, that procrastination has consequences.  In my haste, I hadn’t listened well (at all) and I grabbed the wrong bag from the wrong location.  Had I acted promptly, this mistake could have been avoided.

This is true for all of us.  Procrastination, when it takes root, can have serious consequences.  It can result in loss of time and loss of opportunities.  You may not meet your goals and it could negatively impact your career. It can force you into poor decisions, damage your reputation and, in some cases, affect your health.

What are you putting off for another time that you need to tackle today?  A project at work? A health screening that you’ve been meaning to schedule?  Starting an exercise routine? Now more than ever, we all have a little more time on our hands to do the things we’ve been putting off.  Go and get YOURS done. Trust me on this – I learned the hard way.  Melted Legos aren’t much fun to build with.

Benjamin Franklin had another famous saying: “You may delay, but time will not.”

I guess now that my blog post is written, I’ll go knock a few half-finished items off the old honey-do list. After my nap.

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