Deadlines do what?
They get you focused. You have to complete the task by this date. You have to get out of bed early so you can avoid the traffic and make the meeting on time. At this very moment, I am on a deadline to get this email—a/k/a “dispatch”— submitted for proofing so it can be ready to send out on Thursday at 10:00 am. If I don’t submit it today, then I have to give some lame excuse and ask for mercy. I must get it out because if I don’t, I will be getting 12 text messages asking, “I did not see an email; are we meeting tomorrow?” It takes more time to adjust to a missed deadline than to get the task done in a timely manner.
In his book, The Procrastination Equation, Dr. Piers Steel defines procrastination as follows:
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So, we can narrow the types of behaviors that involve procrastination by determining whether it is in our best interests not to do something when we have time to do it. That falls into the category of self-destructive. Ew, that hurts.
Back to Deadlines
The ultimate deadline is this: you are going to die or be changed in the twinkling of an eye, i.e. at any moment (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). It is one or the other, and it could happen at any time. If you are making lunch plans right now, you may want to put that on hold until you finish that letter or make that call.
Try this verse on for size:
LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
Psalm 39:4-5
Frail? Me? The word literally means “frail”—frail health, frail frame, frail when hit by a semi—frail means you are susceptible to dying. The 1871 commentaries of scholars Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, says that the word means “when I shall cease.” In this body, you will cease.
So, how long you got?
What does it mean that our days are like a handbreadth? Pretend you are in Sunday School. Hold up your hand, palm out. Your pinky finger is when you are born and growing up. Your ring finger is when you start making life commitments, chart new courses, and establish the paths you will walk on. The middle finger is when you are at the apex of your physical and mental growth; you have reached the extent of your development and are truly prepared for life. Your pointer (index) finger is where you have reached a deeper level of wisdom and are ready to engage life to it fullest, making yourself part of the lives of others by teaching, directing, correcting, and reproving as the situation demands.
The thumb is a picture of maturity. It is shorter but is larger in circumference. It depicts stability—like the base of an old oak that has spread its roots out wide and deep so it can withstand the fiercest winds and storms. Spread out your hand as far as you can. The average man’s hand is around 8 inches wide. Hand—not very wide. Life—not very long.
So teach us to number our days , that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom(Psalms 90:12).
That means get focused and think deeply about your days. Solomon, who did a lot in life but wasted more, was a man who knew misdirection. He became impulsive. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
“The Achilles Heal of procrastinators turns out to be impulsiveness; that is, living impatiently in the moment and wanting it all now” (Steel).
One final verse: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest (Ecclesiastes 9:10). No surprise there. You cannot get that job you have been putting off done—when you are dead.
One final thought. Ask yourself, “What does with thy might mean in that verse?” I am out of time; are you?
Harper sends