He becometh poor that dealeth [with] a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. – Proverbs 10:4, KJV

Writing for Entrepreneur magazine, Meiko Patton identified 21 Ways to Achieve Wealth and Success that she gleaned from Tom Corley, author of The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. Habit number 7 was this:

7. Getting things done.

Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today: Accomplish things. All people have fears, but successful people push past them. They don’t procrastinate. They get the important things done, no matter the cost.

In Rich Habits, Corley explains that when the thought of putting off something enters the mind, immediately shed notion by saying, “Do it now.” He says repeat these words 100 times if necessary. Just don’t stop till the task is done.

Being successful for God may or may not include accumulating wealth in the earthly sense. God may grant us wealth on earth; He may not. But Christ was clear in Matthew 6:19-20 that we should strive to lay up treasures in Heaven, and the size of our treasure trove will be highly dependent on our ability to get things done for God. God is no doubt the source of both the will and the power to do His good pleasure. But, in His infinite wisdom and love, He has allowed our free will to be part of the mix in our service to Him. We can access His will and His power today, or we can put it off until tomorrow. We can choose to do that needful task today, or we can delay it until tomorrow. God gives us the choice to choose diligence or slothfulness, and He will allow both choices to bring about their proper consequences.

Should you choose diligence – and hopefully you will – it might be instructive to learn how average Fortune 500 executives structure their days for maximum effectiveness. By applying this template to your life, you might just see a marked improvement in your ability to serve your Lord.