The most bewitching word in the English language is tomorrow. It has an unending ability to soothe and comfort. Faced with any difficulty all a girl has to do is whisper, “Tomorrow,” and all will be well.

I’ve been wondering lately about my tendency to procrastinate. I am a world class Procrastinator. Why do I put off what I not only can do today, but really should do? It pains me to say, I don’t always know.

Sometimes my latent perfectionism paralyzes me. “If your going to do it, do it right,” that voice from my childhood whispers in my ear. But nothing was ever right…or at least not  right enough… When I feel that familiar demoralization rear its ugly head, I laugh and remind myself that nothing is perfect.

I’ve found taking a few minutes to ask and answer one or more of the following usually subdues the instinct to “make it perfect” and frees up enough energy for me to begin the task. In no particular order, I ask:

1) What do I have time for?  If this is the only project of the day, then I have time to really lean in to the details. If my deadline for completion is in an hour, then I’ve got to hit the high points and get ‘er done.

2) What’s the minimum it will take for me (or the boss) to feel good about the finished product? This sounds like a dangerous question, but the point is to stop panicking about “doing it perfectly” which either has me running away or totally paralyzed. Once I get started, my natural tendency to excellence will kick in and I’ll end up doing a great job. I’ve just got to freakin’ start! I’ve developed a little mantra to use in these situations – good enough is good enough.

3) What is the real goal? If the goal is to enjoy a good cup of tea my actions will be far different than if my goal is to produce the most beautiful tea tray ever. I can get caught up in stuff that has no real bearing on what I need to accomplish.  Focus on the Goal!

Other times I do not want to do the task because I dislike it, so I don’t…for days…or weeks…or…

Then there are the things I’m afraid of. Like phone calls. I hate making phone calls because I am afraid someone is going to yell at me. It’s irrational. It’s weird (I don’t call my friends or family). It causes problems at work.

There are other things I’m afraid of, that I put off doing. But I know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.

Often, I’m just simply exhausted. I don’t because I just don’t have the energy.

But then there are the things I love to do (like writing) and the times when I have the energy and the time, and nothing happens. I sit staring at my phone mindlessly scrolling Twitter, or less mindlessly playing Free Cell, instead of doing something that I love. Why?

I don’t know. I know there is always a reason why not. I know excuses are lies you tell yourself. So I offer no excuses, and I’ll keeping looking for the reason how…how can I make this happen? Until I stop putting off the joy I can have today and start embracing it. Right Now…because tomorrow never comes.