How to Stop Time

New York Times ^ | September 26, 2014 | Anna Della Subin

[lbryce]

IN the unlikely event that we could ever unite under the banner of a single saint, it might just be St. Expeditus. According to legend, when the Roman centurion decided to convert to Christianity, the Devil appeared in the form of a crow and circled above him crying “cras, cras” — Latin for “tomorrow, tomorrow.” Expeditus stomped on the bird and shouted victoriously, “Today!” For doing so, Expeditus achieved salvation, and is worshiped as the patron saint of procrastinators. Sometimes you see icons of him turned upside down like an hourglass in the hope that he’ll hurry up and help you get your work done so he can be set right-side up again. From job-seekers in Brazil to people who run e-commerce sites in New Orleans, Expeditus is adored not just for his expediency, but also for his power to settle financial affairs. There is even a novena to the saint on Facebook.

Expeditus was martyred in A.D. 303, but was resurrected around the time of the Industrial Revolution, as the tempo of the world accelerated with breathtaking speed. Sound familiar? Today, as the pace of our lives quickens and the demands placed on us multiply, procrastination is the archdemon many of us wrestle with daily. It would seem we need Expeditus more than ever.

“Procrastination, quite frankly, is an epidemic,” declares Jeffery Combs, the author of “The Procrastination Cure,” just one in a vast industry of self-help books selling ways to crush the beast. The American Psychological Association estimates that 20 percent of American men and women are “chronic procrastinators.” Figures place the amount of money lost in the United States to procrastinating employees at trillions of dollars a year.

[lbryce]

This is a New York Times opinion piece about procrastination, the human frailty of shirking responsibility, not focusing on objectives, priorities that require immediate attention. and the personal, social, repercussions of a cultural phenomena considered pathologic.

The cutesy title, "How To Stop Time" makes its point in a rather obtuse, indirect way, an approach that I find does not serve the subject well. A more direct title would have been preferred.

“Procrastination, quite frankly, is an epidemic,” declares Jeffery Combs, the author of “The Procrastination Cure,” just one in a vast industry of self-help books selling ways to crush the beast. The American Psychological Association estimates that 20 percent of American men and women are “chronic procrastinators.” Figures place the amount of money lost in the United States to procrastinating employees at trillions of dollars a year.

[G Larry]

Never put off today what you can put off tomorrow.....

[Verginius Rufus]

I'll click on the link and read the rest of the story tomorrow.

I never heard of this saint before.

[Dr. Sivana]

There is a statue of him at St. Mary Oratory in Rockford, Illinois. He is a favorite of Fr. Bovee’s.

[Rich21IE]

I’ll check that out....tomorrow.

[aimhigh]

Expeditus achieved salvation, and is worshiped as the patron saint of procrastinators.

Worshiped. Only God is to be worshiped.

[ImaGraftedBranch]

That’s the New York Times saying he is worshipped...because they haven’t a clue.

[campaignPete R-CT]

ping