To procrastinate is to postpone until tomorrow what you could do today. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the Latin roots of the word are pro, meaning “forward” and crastinus, meaning “belonging to tomorrow.” But as Charles Strouse reminded us in the musical Annie, tomorrow is “always a day away.” If we are avoiding an important activity that we could reasonably do today, chances are good that it will always “belong to tomorrow,” and it will never get done (see Helaman 13:38).
As Elder Ian S. Arden reminded us:
Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are all allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use, and we soon learn, as the familiar hymn so carefully teaches, “Time flies on wings of lightning; we cannot call it back” (“A Time to Prepare,” General Conference, October 2011).
Today I will use my time wisely. I will prioritize my activities and will resist the temptation to postpone until tomorrow the important tasks that I can and should do today.
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