As we begin our third month of 2025, I am wondering about the resolutions some of us have made. Would you say that you’ve been successful so far? Or do you want to start over next year? Perhaps you promised yourself (or others) to eat healthy and exercise more.

Maybe you wanted to save money for a trip to some exotic destination. You vowed to give away more of your time or resources or even your heart to help others. All of these are worthwhile things to be doing.

So, how are you doing so far? Are these promises being fulfilled? If you are like me, perhaps you struggle with procrastination—putting off some action until another day. You might subscribe to the mantra: “I can’t wait to procrastinate!”

It can be difficult to begin a new habit or to eliminate an old one. It is the age-old problem that humans love to procrastinate. It is nothing new.

You might be aware of the Old Testament story of Moses and the 10 plagues brought on to Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. There is an odd thing that happens during the plague of frogs. Imagine that your house, your bedroom, your bathroom, every nook and cranny is filled with frogs.

And Pharaoh summons Moses and asks him to pray to God to send the frogs away. Moses asks Pharaoh to set the time for the frogs to go. I would expect most of us would have said, “NOW would be good!” But Pharaoh says, “Tomorrow!” Pharaoh doesn’t want the plague to end for another day. It’s almost like Pharaoh is procrastinating for change to take place.

There is a part of me that understands a bit of why Pharaoh says this. Maybe Pharaoh has somehow embraced this plague and to change seems a bit overwhelming to him. Change can be very hard—and to establish a new habit can do us in many times.

That is why we have struggled to keep our New Year’s Resolutions or promises to do or be better. We find it so easy to just “stay with the frogs” for another day, right? It is what we’re “used to”.

What can we do to get over the procrastination hurdle? Small steps can be so helpful. Focus on one “little” thing—like skipping dessert, or giving an hour (a week) to read books to children, walking for 20 minutes, or even checking in with another person during the day. (I’m sure you can think of 100 other things!).

You may not eliminate procrastination entirely, but you can certainly reduce its impact on your daily life. May God encourage you to start today, even amongst the frogs.