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Do it now!

Never put off tomorrow what you can do today... because tomorrow never comes!

Is there something you have wanted to do for days, weeks, or even your whole life, but you have never gotten around to doing it? Or maybe it is the opposite: some bad habit that you want to stop doing? Is it always tomorrow that you plan to do something about it?

If so, then ask yourself: how is tomorrow different from today? Most days are pretty similar, so there is a good chance that it isn't much different. There is typically nothing special about tomorrow that will encourage you to take the step you have always wanted to take. Realizing that, understand that you need to do it now--or it will never happen.

But what if tomorrow is special in some way? Would that really make a difference to you, so that you would stop procrastinating?

For example, I live in Canada and right now it is the morning of Canada Day (the anniversary of this nation's founding). Today will be filled with celebrations. It is also a national holiday, so like mostly everyone else around here, I won't be going to work. That could give me some free time to make progress on my often-deferred goal, but more likely I will be enouraged to spend my time in the special celebrations that will be going on in my city.

So don't expect a "special day" to make a difference. Whether today is a special day for you or not, ask yourself if can reserve some time now to get started on the thing you have wanted to do, or to get "re-started" if you had fallen away from doing it. If there really is nothing you can do about it today, then perhaps at least you can plan your next step: make an appointment for yourself on your calendar, and stick to the commitment you make for yourself.

If you can't do that now, why would you suppose that you would do it tomorrow either?

Arthur de Leyssac, 2015.

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