I have been putting off writing this post for a long time, which brings to mind the old adage: “Procrastination is the thief of time.”

Few readers may know that its earliest usage arose in a lengthly poem entitled:
“The Complaint — Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immorality” by Edward Young (1663—1765), more popularly known as “Night Thoughts.” It contains nine parts, each written in free verse, reflecting on the death of his spouse and friends over a series of nine nights. Young wrote the poem between 1742—1745, an era when people arguably enjoyed more time for reflection than they do now. I quote a few lines from “Night the First.”

Be wise today, ’tis madness to defer;
Next day the fatal precedent will plead;
Thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life:
Procrastination is the thief of time,
Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves
The vast concerns of an eternal scene.

Young’s poem contains some ten thousand lines, of which just one line became immortal. Notably, the length of the poem provides a perfect excuse to procrastinate its reading.

Procrastination is also a trait of traitors. Aaron Burr, perhaps America’s first and best known traitor, adopted a different approach: “Never do today what you can as well do tomorrow, as something may occur to make you regret your premature action.” (Life of Aaron Burr by James Parton (1822—1891.) Unfortunately, if Burr had procrastinated one more day, he may have avoided conspiring with the enemy.

On a happier note, procrastination became fodder for humorists. Mark Twain added to Burr’s offering, with some humor: “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.” (Goodreads.) Oscar Wilde adopted another tact, twisting the thought by substituting punctuality for procrastination: “Punctuality is the thief of time,” for being on time wastes your time, since everyone else is always late. (Picture of Dorian Gray.)

Appropriately, I conclude this post with a terse Ben Franklin saying: “You may delay, but time will not.”