Why you must empty the wheelbarrow tonight

We’ve all been there. It’s been a long day. School, then practice, then chores and now it’s late. The sun has gone down and you’ve just finished in the barn for the night. Except there’s still that one lingering task. The wheelbarrow you filled today is still sitting by the door. It needs to be emptied. You know it should be emptied, but you are tired, you tell yourself. Plus there’s homework to be done. It can surely wait until the morning.

And it could. It could wait until morning. It could wait until you’ve come to the barn to start the next day’s tasks. Now that you mention it, those record books you’ve been meaning to keep up could wait until next week.The project you’ve committed to helping with for your 4-H club or FFA chapter could wait until next month. There are so many things the you could push back to a later date, and just think of all the time and energy you’d save right now!

But can they really wait?

Your favorite running back doesn’t stop a few yards short of the goal line. Leaders know the ability to deliver results puts you on the path to success, and delivering results means not leaving work unfinished.

So often we let things go that would only take us a few minutes to complete. We justify it to ourselves in the name of saving time or effort in the short run. Without fail, the time you don’t spend now will have to be made up later and in between you’ll have the nagging feeling of a task left undone. In the long run, when you leave work undone now, you only cost yourself later.

Take a few more minutes to finish your work tonight. Not only does it help to build discipline and create better habits, but you’ll also feel better knowing that you can start tomorrow with a clean slate and an empty wheelbarrow.

Marlene Eick is a storyteller and coach. As co-owner of Herdmark Media, she helps businesses in agriculture tell their story. As a leadership and career coach, she helps people discover the stories within themselves.