PROCRASTINATION QUOTES
quotations about procrastination
Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather than risk failure, they prefer to create conditions that make success impossible, a reflex that of course creates a vicious cycle.
JAMES SUROWIECKI
attributed, Great Thoughts on Success
Defer not till to-morrow to be wise,
To-morrow's sun to thee may never rise.
WILLIAM CONGREVE
verses to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Cobham, "Of Improving the Present Time"
Don't put off for tomorrow what you should do today.
AESOP
"The Grasshopper and the Ants", Aesop's Fables
If it wasn't for procrastination ... I'd have nothing to look forward to tomorrow.
TOM WILSON
Ziggy, March 27, 1998
Every duty which is bidden to wait, returns with seven fresh duties at its back.
CHARLES KINSLEY
Sermons for the Times
Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
DON MARQUIS
The Lives and Times of Archy & Mehitabel
A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.
HUNTER S. THOMPSON
The Proud Highway
Delay always breeds danger.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Don Quixote
You must not procrastinate. Rather, you should make preparations so that even if you did die tonight, you would have no regrets. If you develop an appreciation for the uncertainty and imminence of death, your sense of the importance of using your time wisely will get stronger and stronger.
DALAI LAMA
Advice on Dying and Living a Better Life
In the management of most things, slowness and procrastination are hateful.
CICERO
attributed, Day's Collacon
Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren't a child anymore.... The longer you wait, the more you'll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better. From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do -- now.
EPICTETUS
The Art of Living
Procrastination is often a result of an overemphasis on the now in lieu of tomorrow.
MELISSA GRATIAS
"Combat Procrastination. Focus on Action!", Business in Savannah, June 2, 2016
I am in the majority of people who are able--and very willing--to procrastinate in moderation. When I put off a task, it's usually because I'm afraid I won't do it well enough. The longer I stare at a blank new Word document on my computer, the longer I delay the defeat of writing something disorganized and lame. In contrast, when I allow my mind to work through a pitch while I'm folding laundry or making dinner, I generally have something more thoughtful to bring to the page when I return to my workstation. With intentionality, I can leverage the supposed vice into a virtue.
LINDSAY SCHLEGEL
"Is Procrastinating Your Secret Weapon For Success?", Verily, June 6, 2016
Away with delay; it hath always injured those who are inclined to procrastinate.
LUCANUS
attributed, Day's Collacon
Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation.
THOMAS HUXLEY
Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley
Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.
CHARLES DICKENS
David Copperfield
Procrastination of a good deed has often brought repentance; to work while it is called today is my advice.
GLEIM
attributed, Day's Collacon
Why do we procrastinate? It depends -- not just on which expert you consult, but on the person doing the procrastinating. For some of us, there's a thrill in creating a time crunch, while for others, it's about fear of success or failure. We might even put things off in order to avoid having to make a decision, and in so doing, taking responsibility for our choices. The problem, of course, is that no choice is always secretly a choice.
JEN HUBLEY LUCKWALDT
"#MondayMotivation", PayScale, May 16, 2016
Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
memorandum for law lecture, 1850
Do not put off till tomorrow what can be put off till day-after-tomorrow just as well.
MARK TWAIN
Mark Twain's Notebook