Procrastination Will Not Save You
Without making these three changes, I never would've won millions of dollars in scholarships. Procrastination is way too expensive in the scholarship game — here's how to avoid it.
Tomorrow is actually the worst day to start
This is the season where discipline matters more than motivation.
The season where opportunities move fast, and hesitation costs more than you think.
But for so many of us, this is also the season where procrastination creeps in—disguised as busyness, as perfectionism, as the harmless idea of I’ll do it tomorrow.
I know this because I’ve lived it.
I know the quiet weight of procrastination; the way it sits on your chest while you scroll, while you overthink, while you tell yourself you’ll “start fresh” next week.
I used to be the Queen of Almost.
Almost applied.
Almost finished.
Almost gave myself a chance.
It wasn’t because I didn’t care.
It was because I was afraid.
Afraid that if I tried and failed, it would confirm every doubt I secretly carried.
Afraid that I’d put myself out there and come up empty.
And so I clung to procrastination—the illusion of safety.
But as the saying goes:
“The man who waits for perfect weather never plants, never reaps, never eats.”
Waiting didn’t protect me; it drained me.
I remember one night when I was sitting on my bed with my laptop glowing, tabs full of scholarships I said i’d applied for, but hadn’t touched. My mind spun with excuses, weighed down by the discipline, resilience, and sacrifice I knew the scholarship and college journey would demand.
With my back against the wall as application deadlines crept up, I picked up a book entitled The Power of Now.
I didn’t need to think anymore. I needed to start doing.
Much like high school me, you’ve probably decided that you do not want to pay for college. So, this entry serves as your catalyst to stop waiting around and start moving to make that desire a reality.
Let me share a line from that book that helped me make this transition:
“Nothing ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now.”
I sat there, still, as the truth sank in.
The life we want—the scholarships, the freedom, the success, the fulfillment—doesn’t randomly show up in some mystical future where you feel “ready.”
Your future can only be built through the actions you take in the messy, imperfect, uncomfortable now.
Let’s not get it twisted. You won’t suddenly become fearless overnight. I mean, I didn’t.
Instead, you have to become someone who is committed to feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
This one mindset shift changed everything and catapulted me on my journey to becoming a successful 7-figure scholarship winner and scholarship coach.
I took imperfect action over and over until it that action created a rhythm.
That rhythm carried me to win my first ever scholarship from Coca Cola for $20,000. And it wasn’t necessarily because I was the smartest or most accomplished student in the room, but because I refused to keep waiting for perfection.
We think procrastination is harmless.
We think we can keep postponing our goals without consequence.
But there’s another truth I’ve learned:
Fear feeds on delay. Courage is fed by action.
The people who win aren’t always the ones who feel ready.
They’re the ones who start.
The ones who move before their mind can talk them out of it.
And if you’ve been stuck, if you’ve been circling the starting line for far too long, let me share three actionable steps you can take today to change that:
Three Small Steps to Break the Cycle
Shrink the task.
Forget the whole essay. Write one paragraph. Start your outline.
Forget the giant to-do list. Pick one thing.
Momentum is born from small beginnings.Move your body before your mind catches up.
Set a 10-minute timer. Open the application. Draft the email.
You’ll realize just how much you can accomplish when you decide to hunker down and focus.Name the cost of waiting.
Write down what procrastination is stealing from you—opportunities, money, time, peace.
Let the real weight of inaction push you toward motion.
The future you want isn’t waiting in some perfect moment down the road.
It’s here.
It’s in the next small, unglamorous step.
And if you need something to carry with you when the fear tries to pull you back, let it be this:
The first step isn’t meant to be perfect. It’s meant to be taken.
No more almost.
No more later.
Start now.
👉🏾 Need help taking that first step? I’ve got you covered:
Browse my Scholarship List ($500,000+ value), updated weekly with legit scholarships that meet your needs
Download the Scholarship Success Ebook for resources and worksheets to demystify the scholarship essay writing process
Use the Scholarship Application Tracker to organize your applications with ease for a stress-free scholarship journey
What are you starting today? Let me know below!
- Growing with Gabby
Your 7-figure scholarship strategist