We all do it. Whether we’re avoiding a school essay, a tough job, or spending time on other people, procrastination is a principal part of everyday life. However, procrastination has its cost, like everything else. The essay could become late and get a bad grade, the job is lost, and people grow apart. But in starting a business, procrastination is one of the worst possible mistakes to make. By not starting as soon as possible, in starting any business, procrastination makes people forget ideas, lose creativity, become bored. Once the would-be entrepreneur forgets the design or becomes bored with it, the idea is abandoned and lost to time. And that is why the cliche is given around: “Procrastination kills.”
It kills time, money, ideas, and sometimes other things gained by ideas and money. This is so true that procrastination is just a synonym for one of the seven deadly sins: Sloth, AKA laziness. But let’s think through this logically.
First, a term needs to be defined. Opportunity cost is the concept that by choosing one action, it costs that same person some other activity. Basically, by choosing to go to, say, a Boy Scout meeting instead of swim practice when they occupy the same time.
Okay, so the basis of “procrastination kills” is opportunity cost. As defined up above, it is the idea that choosing one action costs another. This can be applied to a kid in public school. Say he has an English essay due on Monday, and the current day is Friday. – Friday, he says, “Ehh, whatever. I’ll do it Saturday.” Then he runs off to play with his friends. Then, Saturday, he says, “I’ll do it tomorrow; I’m not in the mood today.” Later on Sunday, he says, “I should probably do it today, but I don’t want to, so I won’t.” Then, on Monday, he realizes that he goofed up and tries to write the essay during Chemistry class. He manages to get the piece done, but he gets an F because the article is horrible. Thus, procrastination killed his grade, and he will probably get into trouble with his parents.
Another example could be a kid in swim doesn’t want to practice, so he screws around in the pool during practice time. When the meet rolls around, the kid’s time is destroyed, and he doesn’t win any heats. In this case, procrastination does not want to practice, so the kid loses strength, so the kid’s times suffer. This applies to other sports, too.
In real terms, the procrastination is in itself a choice. And by the laws of Opportunity Cost, one option usually costs others. So by procrastinating, a person loses opportunities, doesn’t meet new friends, doesn’t gain the results of not delaying, and even loses what they had before! This is why the cliche is very right: “Procrastination kills.”
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