What I’ve tried to do lately is not procrastinate on the small things. To take care of the small niggles and matters soon as they pop up. Simple things like refilling the soap bottle right as I noticed it’s running low, or cutting up the cardboard and throwing it into recycling soon as I receive a package. I have to say the effort is worth it, because the future me is not rueing the present me for not having done the simple task already.
Try not to make the future you hate the present you.
I guess I’ve always been somewhat okay in that regard, proactively handle things as they come instead of putting it off further down the line. What I’m talking about here then is the really small tasks, the ones that takes no effort ignore. It’s no pain to leave that coffee mug unwashed until I come back from work. But when I do return in the evening, I do hate seeing that mug still in the sink, wondering why I haven’t washed it already.
Preparation is key here: to get as much done as possible so that I’m not piling on stress for my future self. Again, I’m talking about the small stuff: checking the tire pressure on the BMW M2 on schedule, or filling it up with gas soon as I notice the gauge is low (instead of waiting for the next drive). The future me is going to appreciate getting into a car with an already full tank of gas, and proper tire pressures.
Because the small annoyances of life that’s easily ignorable, like a squeaky door hinge begging for a blast of WD40, will compound into something significant if you don’t get it fixed. What’s better? Fixing the squeak right now, or having to listen to it every single day indefinitely? Easy choice to be sure, but in action it can be surprisingly difficult to not procrastinate. So that’s what I’m working on lately.
Very Titanic.