proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.
Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The instruction discourages postponing until tomorrow what can be done today. It gives timely action priority over unnecessary delay.
Example
Someone completes a small urgent task now and schedules less pressing work realistically.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Can refers to possibility, but a responsible application also considers priority and available capacity. The phrase should not demand doing every feasible task immediately or denying rest. A useful reading identifies a meaningful next action rather than turning the whole future into today’s workload.
When to use it
Use it to discuss unnecessary delay alongside priorities and capacity.
Keep in mind
Possible tasks need not all be done immediately, and rest can be necessary.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown