Everyday Canvas

Making the Most of Time

It took me almost a lifetime to learn and follow through my own directive: Do it, now! I try not to put off anything anymore, simply because if I don’t tend to things right away, I forget about them later. This way, when I do the important stuff immediately, I don’t feel overextended or kick myself later for not doing it.

There are some things a person needs to do promptly, without wasting time and dillydallying around, like jotting down the ideas when they pop up, editing the text that has a deadline, paying the bills, getting a leaky roof repaired, getting medical attention if something feels wrong with the body, and taking care of family and people around. Delaying these important actions just a tad or even other not so important ones would not be a problem if we all were Methuselahs, but even for Methuselah, time ran out, didn’t it?

In the world of business, wasting time or putting things off has terrible, visible, and expensive costs. Imagine a factory dumping its waste water into a lake, even though the owners do want to find a better solution but they keep putting off the research for any reason. The lake will be polluted and will not sustain life at all. Then, even if they try to clean it after the disaster strikes, it will cost them a lot more than it would earlier. Not only that, they’ll have a slew of lawsuits to contend with.

Same is true for small things. If we don’t water and feed our plants, they’ll shrivel and die. All life is like that. It needs our attention when the time is right.

On the other hand, doing something haphazardly and without prior knowledge is dangerous, too. Imagine a person running into the Amazon jungle or African Savannah without any preparation and any information on how to deal with the environment, beasts, weather conditions, etc. In his case, delaying his adventure for getting ready and finding knowledgeable people to accompany him would be wiser.

Time and tide wait for no man, true, for time, like a river, keeps flowing forward and never turns back. On the other hand, using time wisely, with proper understanding, and not jumping into action in a thoughtless manner will work to our benefit. Why enter a contest with an unedited, haphazard piece of work, for example?

It is essential to maintain equilibrium between taking one’s time for preparation and doing things when they need to be done. Managing time well will reduce stress, simplify life, and will get rid of mental clutter for everyone.

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Prompt: "You may delay, but time will not" or "Delay is preferable to error." Now write or write later.