Putting it Off - My Top 25 Favorite Quotations on Procrastination

Are you a procrastinator? Do you tend to put things off until the last minute? Do you work best under deadline pressure, or would you rather finish tasks ahead of time?

Many popular figures, both past and present, have made quotable quips and pithy phrasings on the subject of procrastination. Here are my top 25 favorites. Those quoted include preachers, poets, politicians, performers and many more.

Don't wait! Read them right now! Why put off a few thoughts on procrastination, when you can read them immediately?

Here are my top 25 favorite popular quotations on procrastination, arranged alphabetically by speaker.

"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work." Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

"Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves." Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

"By the streets of 'by and by,' one arrives at the house of 'never'." Miguel De Cervantes (1547-1616)

"Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off." Ellen DeGeneres (1958- ___)

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Walt Disney (1901-1966)

"Neither a wise nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him." Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Anne Frank (1929-1945)

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy." Wayne Gretzky (1961- ___)

"Tear thyself from delay." Horace (65-8 BC)

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that in itself is a choice." William James (1842-1910)

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). This procrastination quotation is occasionally attributed to Benjamin Franklin as well.

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

"It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth - and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up - that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004)

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"How soon 'not now' becomes 'never.'" Martin Luther (1483-1546)

"I've been on a calendar, but never on time." Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)

"Slaying the dragon of delay is no sport for the short-winded." Sandra Day O'Connor (1930- ___)

"The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They're full of eagerness, zest, productivity. You can be, too." Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993)

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over, if you just sit there." Will Rogers (1879-1935)

"In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do. The worst thing you can do is nothing." Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

"In delay there lies no plenty." William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." Mark Twain (1835-1910)

"He who hesitates is last." Mae West (1892-1980)

"Do, or do not do. There is no try." Yoda (from 1977's "Star Wars")

Check out these 10 assorted anonymous quotations on procrastination.

A few often-cited procrastination quotations have been attributed to unknown authors or speakers. Perhaps those quoting these statements have not yet gotten around to looking up the sourcing information.

"All things come to those who wait, but when they come they're out of date." Author Unknown

"I do my work at the same time each day, the last minute." Author Unknown

"I remember reading somewhere about an organization called Procrastinators Anonymous. I think they had been in existence for some years but had never gotten around to having a meeting." Author Unknown

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." Author Unknown

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday." Author Unknown

"Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried." Author Unknown

"Procrastination is suicide on the installment plan." Author Unknown

"Someday is not a day of the week." Author Unknown

"The best way to get something done is to begin." Author Unknown

"The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up." Author Unknown

What's your personal favorite popular quotation on procrastination?

Sources:

Brainy Quote - Procrastination

Finest Quotes - Procrastination Quotes

Proverbia - Procrastination

Quotations Book - Procrastination

Quote Garden - Procrastination

Stop Procrastinating Info. - Procrastination Quotes

The Quotations Page - Procrastination

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