Procrastination can feel like an endless cycle of putting things off until the last minute. Whether you’re struggling with motivation, battling distractions, or just looking for a push to get started, the right words can inspire action.

Below are 100+ procrastination quotes that will help you shift your mindset, break free from hesitation, and take control of your time.

Motivational Procrastination Quotes

Sometimes, all you need is a little push. These quotes remind us that taking action is the key to success.

  • A year from now, you may wish you had started today.
  • You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
  • Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
  • The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.
  • Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

Funny Procrastination Quotes

Humor can sometimes be the best motivation to break free from bad habits. These witty quotes highlight the absurdity of delaying tasks.

  • Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.
  • If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
  • Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.
  • Someday is not a day of the week.
  • Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.

Deep and Thought-Provoking Procrastination Quotes

For those who need to reflect deeply on why they delay tasks, these quotes offer a different perspective.

  • You may delay, but time will not.
  • Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
  • Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
  • The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
  • We keep ourselves busy with unimportant things to avoid the important ones.

Overcoming Procrastination: Quotes on Taking Action

If you need a reminder to stop overthinking and just do it, these quotes will help.

  • Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.
  • Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
  • Stop waiting for inspiration. Just start.
  • Action is the foundational key to all success.
  • You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind.

More Procrastination Quotes

  • Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.
  • Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
  • Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.
  • You may delay, but time will not.
  • Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
  • A year from now you may wish you had started today.
  • To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.
  • Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
  • Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
  • There is nothing so fatal to character as half-finished tasks.
  • Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.
  • The best way to get something done is to begin.
  • It always seems impossible until it’s done.
  • Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work.
  • How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.
  • If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
  • Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
  • Someday is not a day of the week.
  • Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.
  • You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
  • In delay there lies no plenty.
  • If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.
  • The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.
  • One of these days is none of these days.
  • Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.
  • Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
  • Do it now. Sometimes ‘later’ becomes ‘never’.
  • When you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection.
  • Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.
  • Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.
  • Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
  • The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
  • Excuses are the lies we tell ourselves so it doesn’t have to be our fault.
  • Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
  • Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.
  • Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
  • Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
  • Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results.
  • Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.
  • Fear is the brain’s way of saying that there is something important for you to overcome.
  • Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.
  • When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.
  • The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
  • There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
  • Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand.
  • We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
  • We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
  • You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
  • Nothing will work unless you do.
  • A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams reality.
  • It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
  • When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
  • Fear is temporary. Regret is forever.
  • Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.
  • You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.
  • Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.
  • Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.
  • Action is the foundational key to all success.
  • Procrastination is the enemy of progress. Start now.
  • The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.
  • Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step today.
  • Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.
  • You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.
  • An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.
  • Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
  • Don’t allow idleness to deceive you; for while you give him today, he steals tomorrow from you.
  • A little progress each day adds up to big results.
  • Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.
  • The best way to predict the future is to create it.
  • Stop thinking about what could go wrong and start thinking about what could go right.
  • Every day you put it off is one more day you have to wait for your dreams to come true.
  • Just because you took longer than others doesn’t mean you failed. Keep going.
  • If you put off everything till you’re sure of it, you’ll never get anything done.
  • The more you wait, the less time you have to make things happen.
  • What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.
  • Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.
  • You are one decision away from a completely different life.
  • Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.
  • Take the risk or lose the chance.
  • Stop wishing. Start doing.

Final Thoughts

Procrastination isn’t just about productivity; it can impact mental health by increasing stress and anxiety. Constant delays create a cycle of guilt and self-doubt, making tasks seem even more overwhelming. If procrastination is affecting your well-being, seeking guidance from a professional can help you break free from this habit.

Visit Rico Counseling to explore how therapy can help you overcome procrastination, anxiety, and stress.

Take the first step toward a more productive and fulfilling life today.