Hillel... would say: "If I am not for me, who will be for me? And If I am just for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?"

Pirkei Avot 1,14

That last question has usually been interpreted as a rhetorical one. If you're not going to do it now, you'll never get around to it!

But this is clearly a bad principle to live by. If you start cooking too early, the food will be cold when you want to eat it. If you pick a fruit before it's ripe it will be sour. When you are exhausted the quality of your work goes down. And when you have many things to do, you have to prioritise which comes first.

There is a season and a time for everything...

Ecclesiastes 3,1

Perhaps we would do better interpreting it literally. It's fine to push things off, but first [...]

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First published:
June 26th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/swFfJfMdAn88YBKiW/if-not-now-when-1

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“If Not Now, When?” by Yair Halberstadt 01:39 Share

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“If Not Now, When?” by Yair Halberstadt