Why put it off when you can do it now?

Really, why?  What is stopping you?  I am slowly discovering that I am a closet perfectionist and that I use that as an excuse for not to getting things done.  "I'll do it later when I have more time, and can do it properly" - I say to myself.  But "later" just brings more stuff that needs to be done and the things that need to be done get piled up in the inbox, on  to-do lists, and as nagging reminders inside my head.  The paradox is that actually doing something and eliminating it from the to-do list feels really good, so why don't I do it more often?  I'm not sure.  Tonight I finished going through my inbox and creating a filing system, which has been on my mind for over four months.  As a side note - label makers make filing so much more fun .  I also cleaned the fish tank after two months of thinking about it.  The water was burning my hand as I was suctioning it off; I have no idea how Jock and Smitty are still alive.  Next on the agenda?  Finish phd.  It might require a bit more time than cleaning the fish tank, but it is definitely going to happen within the next year.  I've set a goal to defend before my 28th birthday. It will be my present to myself; hopefully that is motivation enough.  The more I think about my future and what career I want, the more I think that a life as a bench scientist or in academia is not for me.  I love editing -  I want to be an editor.  It feels good to say that to myself.  Now I just have to figure out a way to make it happen...