Procrastination

Sometimes when we put things off it ends up costing us a lot more in the end. I received a call on Wednesday from a customer who put off shutting down her swamp cooler. She was reminded when a passerby noticed water spraying from the broken water line on her roof. The Good Samaritan notified her and helped shut off the water.

Today I finished the job by disconnecting the water line, draining and covering the cooler. Next spring part or all of the water line will have to be replaced.

It’s never a good idea to ignore a needed repair if it involves water. In this case freezing weather caused a break. An ignored water leak will usually lead to damage that will cost more than the basic repair would have. Many other needed repairs follow the same pattern. A small repair overlooked leads to a bigger expense later.

If there is a repair you have been ignoring? Give me a call and we can discuss it. You might find out that it will be less expensive to repair that you expected. In any case, you will know what you need to do.

Keeping these thoughts in mind will save you money in the long run.

Philip

National Procrastination Week

Depending on who you talk to, either the first or second week in March is National Procrastination Week. Maybe the second week is for those who want to put things off for another week.

Here is the motto: “To promote the benefit of relaxing by putting off until tomorrow, everything that needn’t be done today.”

I have found that when I put things off, I can never really relax. So, what is it that makes us procrastinate? Here is a list that I came across:

• We put off unpleasant or difficult tasks.
• We procrastinate when we’re afraid.
• We procrastinate when we’re swamped.
• We procrastinate when we’re overwhelmed.

As a handyman I find that many people procrastinate on home repairs because they are worried about the cost. The problem with that is deferred maintenance many times gets worse and the cost goes up.

The best thing to do is find out what it is actually going to cost then you know if you can get it done right away or if you need to save for the repair. Sometimes an intermediate repair can be done to keep the problem from getting worse.

I have found through the years that my customers are usually surprised to find out that the repairs I do cost less than they expected.

If you really want to relax then put off procrastination by giving me a call. Until then, ponder these words: According to William James, "nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging-on of an uncompleted task." Ben Franklin advised not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today, warning, "You may delay, but time will not."

Philip