Do It Now

Do it now. Right now. Even if you have to finish reading this post later in order to do it.

Do what now? Anything you can do right now that needs to be done.

Trash? Take it out now. Idea for a new novel strike you in the last few minutes? Write it down now. Have a phone call you need to return. Now.

You are sensing the pattern, no doubt. A lot of big things require planning and consideration, and we can't just hop into a decision. But if we are not careful, we won't ever have the mental space to research and make those big decisions, because we have neglected too many smaller things. And we have let them accumulate to such a degree that they represent one large obstacle to moving forward. The obstacle of "catching up".

Oh I know there are some people that do this automatically. Everything is done with speed and efficiency. Nothing is ever half-assed, and nothing is ever put off or forgotten. Such people have every moment in their life together and nothing gets left behind.

Then there are the normal people. Or in the very least, the people that are sometimes Too XYZ to resist the temptation to wait before doing the small things. I'm guilty.

It reminds me of a statistic I heard that is rather fascinating to me. Ironically, something close to half of native New York City residents have never been to Liberty Island. The reason most often cited? New Yorkers assume that since they live there in the same city, they could go see Liberty Island any day they want. In the meantime they do other things and visit other sites that are further away. Time goes on and eventually they realize they have never seen their own city's most famous landmark. 

Which is how the small things get you. It only takes a brief few minutes to read that article you have been meaning to check out. But you are quite tired right now. It will keep. You'll be able to remember the idea for a poem that came to you in the shower without writing it down. You are in a hurry and don't have time to find your notebook. You'll shoot off a quick email when you don't feel so stressed about life.

And on it goes. You get the idea. Jump on these things as close to instantly as you can while still being safe. It's a pain in the ass today, especially when it seems you can easily pluck off those small errands anytime. But that means they will be just as easy to ignore tomorrow as they are to do tomorrow.

Do yourself and your future time a favor. Do it now.