Doing today's work today

Back in my corporate days, I had a conversation with the renowned quality control expert Dr. W. Edwards Deming. I was explaining the time pressure I was under.

“I rush to finish things. I can always go back and fix them if they’re not right.”

“How many times have you done that?”

“Not many. Actually, almost never. I really don’t have the time to go back.”

“Exactly. If you don’t have the time to do it right the first time, when will you have the time to do it over?”

It stung because it was true. He continued:

“The only way to be effective is to do today’s things today. The only way to excel is to do things right the first time.”

“Sorry, Dr. Deming, that seems like a tall order. How can I always get it right the first time?”

“Of course, you won’t get it right all the time. Neither can I. But you shouldn’t begin with the idea that you can do sloppy work today and go back and fix it some other day. Always assume you only have one chance to do things well.”

That was a brilliant lesson in two parts: do today’s work today, and do it well. The Stoics would have endorsed it enthusiastically.

Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. - Marcus Aurelius,Meditations, 4.17…

postponement is the greatest waste of life; it deprives them of each day as it comes… — Seneca,On the Shortness of Life, 9

When we do today’s work today, we can relax at the end of the day, because nothing is pending. Nothing lingers to keep us awake.

Here are some practical reflections on doing today’s work—today.

Why do we waste today? Because there is always tomorrow. What we don’t finish today, we can finish tomorrow. Or the day after. Or sometime later.

In our minds, there is an endless supply of days ahead. So it feels harmless to waste one.

But no days are guaranteed. None of us knows how many remain—or how many will be available to us, free and clear.

The greatest hindrance to living is expectancy, which depends upon the morrow and wastes to-day. - Seneca, On the Shortness of Life, 9

“…if I make haste I gain all; if I delay I lose all.” - Cicero,Epistulae ad Atticum, 10.8.5

Expectation—that we will have time later—is the root of delay. The more we rely on “later,” the less we act now.

The only proper focus today is what needs to be done today—not what can be deferred.

There is a Japanese concept, ichigo ichie—“one encounter, one lifetime.” Each moment is unique and cannot be repeated.

Tomorrow will bring new demands, new constraints, and new distractions. Time does not wait.

Why do you delay? … Unless you seize the day, it flees. - Seneca,On the Shortness of Life, 9Even though you seize it, it still will flee; therefore you must vie with time’s swiftness… - Seneca

,On the Shortness of Life, 9

Even when we act, time slips past. But that’s not a reason for frenzy—it’s a reason for focus.

This doesn’t mean filling every minute with activity. It means being present with what matters today, rather than scattering attention and hoping to make up for lost time later.

Every task we postpone today makes tomorrow heavier. Over time, these compound, until both our days and our lives feel out of control.

We often complain that we don’t have enough time. But everyone has the same twenty‑four hours.

The difference lies not in allocation, but in use.

It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. - Seneca,On the Shortness of Life, 1

Life is long enough… if the whole of it is well invested. - Seneca,On the Shortness of Life, 1

The problem is not scarcity—it is squandering. If we observe closely, we’ll see that much of what prevents us from doing today’s work today is not lack of time, but distraction, avoidance, and misdirected effort.

For what other master… do you wait as an excuse for this delay? — Epictetus,Enchiridion, 49-

All that is still to come is uncertain. What exists is today.

Not doing things properly the first time creates rework—and rework steals time from today.

Doing it right the first time is not about perfection. It’s about clarity and intention.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. - Epictetus,Discourses, 3.23

We often know what needs to be done—but we hesitate. We second‑guess. We downgrade its importance.

So the task waits until we are forced into it under time pressure. Then we do it poorly, and the cycle continues.

One way out is simple: treat every task today as a commitment, not an option.

Whatever rules you have adopted, abide by them as laws… - Epictetus, Enchiridon 50

Every delay adds weight to tomorrow. Every unfinished task reduces the time available for what truly matters next.

Doing today’s work today is simpler. Postponing it is both stressful and inefficient.

We postpone work because we assume there will always be tomorrow. Such expectancy breeds procrastination.

Time lost today never returns.

We often misdiagnose the problem: it’s not a lack of time, but a waste of it.

Doing work well the first time is more efficient than having to rework it.

Write down three things you postponed recently.

They can be small or large.For each one, ask:

Why did I postpone this?

Did I truly not have time—or did I avoid it?

What belief about “tomorrow” made the delay feel okay?

Pick one task and do a “first pass” now. Not perfectly, but as well as you can.

Set a rule for tomorrow: “What I choose to do, I finish—or intentionally discard.”

At the end of the day, check:

Did you carry less mental load?

Did your day feel calmer or more deliberate?

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