A Year From Now, You'll be Grateful You Started Today

I know of few simpler thoughts that encourage me to stop dawdling, procrastinating and otherwise putting things off than this wonderful quote from author and journalist Karen Lamb.

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.”
— Karen Lamb

There’s something so undeniable about the logic that I find I can’t argue with it and am forced to get started: “She’s right. I’m sure I will wish I’d started today. I better get on it.”

For me, it captures a little of the frustration I would feel if I hadn’t started a year ago. This is a useful kick in the backside.

But it also brings the aspirational vision of how I will feel a year from now, looking back, having started today and seeing all my progress. That’s a nice feeling to help me get started.

It’s both a carrot and a stick.

So when I thought about drawing it, I find I really think about how grateful I will feel to my past self that I chose to get going on that day a year ago. So that’s what I drew.

“A year from now, you’ll be grateful you started today.”

The quote has a lot in common with the classic wisdom (for another sketch): The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.

Is there something that in a year you’ll wish you had started today? What’s a small step you could take now?

Related Ideas to “A Year from Now”

Thinking of getting started? See my collection: on getting started

The quote is sometimes written as:

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”

The “may wish” gives that little flexibility that helps me not stare daggers at Karen for not understanding my particular circumstances. Maybe you’ll prefer it.

I couldn’t find verifiable source information for this quote. Barry Popik shares versions of it from at least 1994, and James Clear, in a 2020 newsletter , says that Karen attributes it to a collection of short stories she edited.