Yesterday was a busy day. There was, of course, the normal everyday busyness of getting everyone out the door for school. I was working on a couple of household projects that only added to my ever-increasing to-do list. Have you ever done that? Started something that was supposed to make life easier only to look around and realize that it looks like a bomb has gone off in your home? Anyway, I was scheduled to guest teach for my husband in the afternoon while he travelled with his high school boys soccer team to an “away” game. After school I would be driving to my daughter’s volleyball game at a school about 40 miles from our home. In anticipation of a late arrival at home from the game, I worked as fast as I could to finish up some cleaning chores before lunch. I loaded the dishwasher and got it all ready to run, but I decided to wait to start it until I left for the afternoon. I was so proud of the progress I had made on my to-do list and I left the house smug with satisfaction.

This morning when I went into the kitchen, I realized that I didn’t remember to hit the start button on the dishwasher yesterday. Grrrrrr!!! Why did I procrastinate instead of just starting the cycle right after I finished filling the machine?! Why was I relying on my memory that just isn’t what it used to be? Why didn’t I set the “delay start” function so the cycle would start automatically later in the day?

In the midst of my frustration I began to think about this issue of procrastination and how it affects my life. I should probably join a twelve step program to deal with it once and for all. Hi, my name is Laurel, and I am a procrastinator! Why do I procrastinate? There are a variety of reasons both simple and complex. I’m lazy- “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” I rely on my memory to remind me of the things that need my attention. (Obviously that isn’t working out so well. ) Often I’m overwhelmed by the task at hand and don’t know where to start. Sometimes I’m afraid that I might fail, so I don’t even begin. And sometimes I have everything ready to go, but I don’t press the start button.

I can’t overcome this entire issue of procrastination in one day… that will require some intensive behavior modification for me! But I can begin this process by giving myself a simple little reminder, “Have you pressed the start button today?” A little reminder can often stir us into action.  Perhaps it’s the dishwasher, or a difficult task, or something that God has put on your heart… have you pressed the start button today?