The Washington times., 1909-02-01
PUTTING-OFF POLICY
POPULAR PRACTICE
Why Should People Do To-
day What Can Easily Be
Done Tomorrow?

81 wish TO protest, here and now,
against the tresome people who do
things today that they could very we'll
put of until tomorrow" said Anne.
raised my eyebrows, but there is no
use arguing with a person who likes 10
be original
Il have number of friends and rela-
tves who have this pernicious habit.
went on my guest
Perhaps they were taught in their
childhood that they should cultivate it,"
put In,
Perhaps" assented Anne. ..neouIe do
stun chlldrens heads with such ridicu-
louS Ideas / went TO stav with Eliza
belh noL long ago. Elizabeth is what is
known as q 'nue' woman. Need / say
more Nice frosty mornings at Eliza
ptIl s, when the Iingling air just fn-
Alleu one 10 walk, 7 would suggest to
Llzabeth that we so down town and do
some shopping Down town in Eliza
brln village one meets everyone she
knows, and IL is just like a long happy
uaE 10 the country with ones friends.
But would Elizabeth g02 Not at ALL
Instead she would search her conscience
ana discover that there was something
she had TO do some foolish thing that
could very well be done at any other
tne. When / pointed this fact out TO
her she replied that her early training
mad put IL out of her power to prOcrastl-
nate, she felt obliged to do the work
that came 10 hand at once.
Works All Morning.
50 she worked an morning darning
or making cake. or sewing some foolish
thing. Then i'm the afternoon she in
variably remembered that she had bust
ness letters TO write or accounts to
keep. or something which kept us from
day IL always rained, and Elizabeth and
i sat about and dawdled mIserably and
bored each other 10 extinction.
Now, you see, Elizabeth i would
say when / had yaWned myself half to
death. If YOU had put off the work you
dlo yesterday until today you would
have something 10 interest and amuse
you now and we would still have had
our nice, long walk
But it didn't cure her in the least.
When I came away after q mlSeTa BILE
visit she still had the idea that il was
VEIuOus JhlnS 10 DC Work lnmeu-
ately and not put lt of for some unln-
Ieresting moment when there was moth
ing else TO be done
And while I did not Cutw ardly agree
with Anne, i admitted to myself that
there is good deal Of pleasure In put
lnE of the performance of uuty.
When work is piled up very, very high
and one has a terrible keen inner con-
seriousness that the thing 10 do is to sit
right down al ones desk and go al H.,
tooth ana nail, IS the saying is, then
there is something very attractive in
putting on ones best hat and walking
OUT 20 the park and around the big
lake once.
The thought that OF all things I'm the
world this is what one should not DE do
5ug lends ZasL 10 the exercise and brings
roses 10 the cheeks.
Tt may not be q G5od plan of action.
but when the lila Vised act ceases to
attract as what a -ati0n OF tame and
commonplace persons We VIII be. 20 be
sure.
A Trait to Cultivate.
PrOcrastinati5n. the tiresume COPY
books 20 the contrary Notwithstanding
SIS sometimes trait to cultivate 1t is
the person VINO acts on impulse who
oftenest regrets his mad speed The pro-
crastinat0r at least only has sins OF
omission 10 regret not those OF com
That's the chief disadvantage Of
having an account al a shop Tor lu-
srauce-tEar when one takes sudden
liking TO q fabric She may buy it
without taking time to- consider the
matter in all It's various phases and
lasts. Whereas III cash IS required FOR
the purchase ana one hasn L SUFFICIENT
she VIII probably fan in love with
twenty other materials before she has
collected the necessary sum.
Marianne tells Of time when she
received a letter from the man she
.DHrA rrH4lIE ..H- 40 --ara4.- -.4l4 L-E
besouga an immediate reply. The sim
gle WORD yes hy telegraph, ne
wrote, "Wil save me many an an
guisEed and sleepless hour
Marianne says Der first impulse was
not 10 pUt or what she could do at
once, but to hasten 90 the telegraph
office and put the youth out OF his
Even as she sat in her boudolr con-
EldcTlnE whether she should sign the
telegram Marianne or merely "M.
. g. H#.. s#.HHF
OF disguise another young man was an
uguucel- The visitor Marianne SAYS
!al long been friend OF the family,
bur she had never supposed he was UNI
usually devoted To her. He was. how
ever and he had come to tell her so
and 20 ask her % marry him.
Greatly Surprised.
Marianne says that she was so sur
prised that she did not remember 20
calculate any OF those set sayings
proper TO the occasion. She merely ac-
cepted this sutton quite simply i'm a few
UeII-clgsel words and later married
him and lived ever after.
ln telling This tale She is wont 10 ask,
1mpreEslt --E- NOW what do Eou sup
pose would have happened 20 me if I
had not put on until more convenient
moment what ] mlelL have done ar
ouce2
And IF her auditors ask. "But what
became or the other man. Marianne
she always replies, lauEu-dlys 81 never
I'4IIIrea.
TIE c0py-b80ks do not give any argu-
meurs for their advice against procras-
tllatiDu. They just remark badly,
Never put OF until tomorrow what you
can do today as Us their uuTeaE0niug
and iuuriatug habit: but any one with
au inluriug mind can fuI q thousand
reasons for U~8-T0stluaLlou-a thousand
reasons Wag the person Who acts with
lut taking llIle 20 consider the matter
lrau every Viewpoint may live 10 regret
his guulJLallLE.
LEONORE CALVERT.
DISTINCT DRAWBACK