Sometimes the drive in me to do what I have to do is just not there. I search deep down and I come up with Jack. Jack and I have been friends for a hella long time and even when I don’t want him around, he shows up anyway. When Jack pops up, I ask him what he’s doing hanging on to me cause I’ve got things to do and jobs to search for and lists to get through. He just smiles. Jack is lazy, with a capital L. Jack does jack. He’s procrastinator extraordinaire. He’s got the market cornered with his tactics. He’s slouchy, slothy and sluggish in his ways and he loves to hang out with me. Together Jack and I get jack done. We come up with the grandest excuses as to why we can’t get through our tasks. You should hear some of the stories we come up with.
Oh how we used to love, love, love that whole let’s start in the New Year thing. A new year. The new year. January 1st. You’d think this is some kind of magical day where old slates are wiped clean and everyone gets a new dry erase board. Do folks get do-overs only on this day? Is there some kind of unwritten rule that says New Year’s Day is everyone’s first day of the rest of their lives? Ahh . . . I think not.
Procrastination is my downfall. I can run circles around all of you who think you’ve got me beat in this department. I can put things off with the best of them and not even flinch when crunch time comes. Making to-do lists don’t help. Deadlines don’t speed me up. Threats don’t scare me. Nowadays, the only thing that helps is for me to dive in and do what I have to do. Just get it done and over with. No hesitation. No contemplation. Just go for it.
So why escape the inevitable? Why wait? Treat everyday as a new year. A new beginning. A do-over. Think about it. Every day is a new start as soon as your eyes open. You’ve got 24 hours in one day to do all of the things you want to do over from the day before. So why wait for January 1st? That day has the same amount of hours as all of the other days of the year. The way I see it, any day you start over and recommit to doing something, that’s day #1. I decide to go on a diet on May 1st for one year . . . that’s still day one. I ate my last cookie yesterday . . . today is day #1. I need to search for a new job, a very daunting task that will no doubt take me a few months to find, so I’m going to start looking today, not a month from now when it’s New Year’s Day. I’ll start today so I don’t blow the next 30 days of what could’ve been major productivity, basking in procrastination heaven.
So . . . what are you waiting for? Whether it’s a job search, cleaning your house, taking a course, dieting or going to the gym . . . start today. Why would you want to wait for New Year’s Day to have your day #1? And if you have a Jack hanging around you like I do, ignore him. His “why do today what you can put off until tomorrow” motto is highly contagious. His sleepy eyes are mesmerizing. His excuses are captivating. His laid back attitude is addictive. Don’t let Jack talk you into doing jack. Start today.
