Procrastination seems to be an inborn trait.
Our Sunday school class was discussing the topic of why children disobey their parents. Inevitably, we began sharing the things that our kids say that drive us crazy. One of the universal complaints was the, “just a minute answer,” when we make a request of them.
It sometimes appears in phrases like, “hang on,” or “hold on.” For my family in particular, I get these words when it’s time for dinner. I never call those kids to dinner when they don’t have a reason for not coming immediately. I often joke that if I had a nickel for every time I hear their excuses, I would be a wealthy woman.
They are good excuses too. You know, like, “The show is almost over;” or “I’m in the middle of a game;” or “I have to go to the bathroom.” (just to name a few)
The beauty of adult community, is that we get to talk about this kind of stuff and we often realize that our kids are no different that anyone else’s. We share and we learn different parenting strategies from each other. That was the case here. But, after the class, I kept thinking about the seemingly universal desire to procrastinate.
Most all kids seem to do it. But are adults any better? Kids often provide the perfect observation of inborn human behavior. I began a little self-examination. I’m afraid I didn’t fare much better.
Whether it was a better exercise regimen to eating healthier, from calling an old friend, to sending a sympathy card, to planning dinner with friends; I hate to admit that I often have the same, “just a minute,” attitude, like my kids. The only difference, is I don’t say it out loud.
The problem with the, “just a minute,” attitude, is the same way dinner gets cold when we leave it on the table for too long, there are some opportunities in life, that have a time stamp. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Sometimes doing it now is the best way to go.
We have friends who we were trying to get together for dinner recently. We mentioned it to them and they were interested, but the proposed evening didn’t work. We put it off. In this case, the hubby was leaving town for a few months, so the window was short. I got an e-mail from my sweet friend after a few days, that simply said, “He is leaving Tuesday, if you want to do dinner, we have to do it this weekend. No pressure.”
It took a little vulnerability on her part, but I was so happy that she sent me that note. Of course we wanted to get together, we were just, “waiting a minute,” and almost missed our opportunity for a really fun evening of fellowship. We set a date immediately and had a blast.
Then I had to ask myself how often God calls me to do something and I plan on getting to it. I’m not disobeying exactly. I’m just putting what I’m doing at the moment, ahead of God’s call. It’s kind of like my kids coming to dinner. But, if I’m not disobeying exactly, then I’m not obeying either.
I think I need to be more vigilant about this. I think I need to do the important things now, responding to God and connecting with friends and family should be the top of the list. There are only so many hours in a day and so many days. I think I need to try to make the to-do list short and get it done.
How about you? How do you do with procrastination? I’d love to hear from you.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂