[Points: Introduction—why invaluable procrastination—want of punctuality—conclusion.]
Time is invaluable. It flows ceaselessly on without any con sideration for the convenience of any man, however important or high-placed he may be. And time once gone is gone for ever. Lost wealth may be regained by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance and medicine but lost time cannot be recovered by any means.
Many do not realise this. They waste their time, thinking that they would make up the loss in future. But the hope may be never realised. Every moment of our time has its particular duty. Putting off our works, therefore, means over-burdening us, that is making our tasks heavier and more difficult in future. This is why students who neglect their studies from day to day often fail in spite of very hard labour before the examination. They can neither acquire knowledge nor build up character and suffer all their life in consequence. Besides, who can say what this future will be,-whether it will not be worse than the present? Some unforeseen obstacles may arise; we may be suddenly taken ill; there may be some family calamity, financial difficulties may fall un us; and then we shall find that the task has become much harder, if not too hard. Moreover, if we begin to put off things, we shall soon get into the habit of indolence and thus slowly bring about our own ruin.
Want of punctuality is another way of wasting time. An unpunctual man cannot finish his own duties and incurs the displeasure of others by wasting his time too. In the military field delay by a few minutes may change the destinity of a nation. Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo because a Marshal of his was a few minutes too late to come to his side. And Waterloo decided the fate of Europe for many years.
If we look around we see that the successful men everywhere are those who made proper use of every moment of their time. The most prosperous nations are those that don't waste any time. We also should take lessons from them both for ourselves and for our nation.
