What it means?
The proverb ‘procrastination is the thief of time’ means that:
- A person who procrastinates or delays in doing things at the right moment ultimately finds himself in a situation when he had very little time to complete the task.
- A person who fails to discharge his duties on time fails to achieve success in life.
The secret of success in life lies in being punctual. A person has limited time to achieve success, and he has to do many things within the short span of life.
Explanation
We cannot afford to waste time by being caught in the habit of procrastination. Time is money, for when it is spent in doing useful work; we get money in return for our work. We must do our duties at the right hours. ‘Strike while the iron is hot’, goes the well-known saying. Time once lost is lost forever.
We should disallow the formation of habit of procrastination even from our very infancy. A boy of mediocre merit excels others in his studies by making a proper use of his time. He makes better progress in his studies and generally scores higher marks than others. On the contrary, many meritorious students make a mess of their careers by wasting their time and opportunities.
Examples
- An officer who procrastinate his duties at office cannot command the respect of his subordinates.
- The commander-in-chief of an army, however strong, cannot expect to win victory if he does not turn up punctually in the battlefield.
- A passenger cannot catch a train if he does not go to the station in time.
- An unpunctual businessperson caught in the habit of procrastination cannot thrive in business as his customers form a very poor opinion of him.
- These show that the habit of procrastination is a great obstacle for success in life.
Conclusion: Things not done in time are rarely done right. If a person caught in the habit of procrastination allows an opportunity to slip, he may not get another chance of doing the task. Hence, it is true that ‘procrastination is the thief of time’