The Mindset of “ Do It Now” or “It Can Wait”

I’m excited to continue our series on mindset shifts! What this does is this allows us to isolate and analyze different areas of our lives, understanding our thought processes that drive our actions and outcomes. The one I want to talk about now is a big one. “Do it now” or “it can wait.”

How do you feel about this one? That decisive moment of” Do it now, or “it can wait”? Do you struggle with this? Being truthful with you, this is challenging for me. Especially in certain things, like keeping my home in order. And another one for me is getting rid of stuff. Whether it’s all the jars of lotions and potions I have bought through the years and spent a lot of money on—even though they did not deliver the magic—I find it hard to part with them. Or here is another one, getting rid of the nice clothes that I have in my closet that I no longer wear, but I spent a lot of money on! I struggle with the mindset of should I get rid of this “do it now” or the decision “It can wait”. Do you have those things, that you know if you could shift from a “it can wait,” mindset to a “do it now” mindset, your life would improve to another level? That’s the topic for today!

What inspired me to address this one is TikTok (where I promote my podcast episodes). I There, I happened to stumble on this young mom, that literally yells at people to clean their house and do their laundry. She’s pretty direct about it. It caught my attention. Her name is Kylie Perkins. Her posts on cleaning her house are blowing up and going viral. It’s genius. I’ll tell you it spoke to me. Sometimes I hear something, or I read something, and it just resonates with me. When I watched her TikTok videos, I found she says a lot of things that make sense. What spoke to me was her mindset. I’ll share with you a couple of things that I learned from her. She does a great job of choosing to look at what sounds like complex overwhelming issues and addressing them head on.  She may be talking about housecleaning, and laundry, getting dressed, and getting out of the house but what she is really talking about is mindset. Kylie says “it’s not hard.” She challengers her audience to change their perception about tasks that they have convinced themselves are difficult. For example, she talks about doing laundry. She talks about how her audience says Laundry is overwhelming and difficult. Kylie physically shows how simple doing laundry is, and demonstrates putting laundry in the washing machine with soap, and  when it finishes, she put it in the dryer and when it is dry,  you fold it and put the clothes away. She is filming herself doing the process. She shares with her audience that it is not difficult. Especially because we have the convenience of washers and dryers. We don’t have an excuse. Doing laundry is not hard. The problem is we can convince ourselves how hard doing laundry is, complain, and then we don’t do it, it stacks up and it becomes overwhelming. The solution is having a routine of doing laundry. It is not hard. Our brain tells us things are hard when they aren’t.  Let me tell you why this is so genius. It’s not just an example of doing laundry, you can change the task and replace laundry with anything. It’s the illustration! First, she simplifies the obstacle, gets rid of the emotions, deals with the facts. The mindset is: make the decision, “do it now,” take action, create a routine. Repeat. She does the same steps in her videos for decluttering, cleaning the house, and getting dressed, and getting out of the door. Her delivery is direct but relatable. I highly recommend you find her on TikTok.

Here’s one more invaluable idea Kylie offered on different video that resonated with me that ties in with the mindset shift of “do it now” vs. “it can wait.” She talks about something she personally can’t stand (like I said she is somewhat direct in a relatable way). She is kind, but she is also a no-nonsense type of person. On this particular video, she shares the thing that she can’t stand, and it’s getting with that friend who is constantly complaining about the same thing. She calls her “the complaining no-action type person.” She says the only thing her friend talks about is how she hates her current situation and never takes an action, she says it’s the same freaking complaint, every time they hang out. She goes on to tell her listeners don’t be that friend. What struck me about this advice is we can also be that type of person to ourselves. The complaint-no-action type person. Such a strong reminder! And fits in with the topic today.

The mindset shift of “Do it Now” compared to “it can wait.” We can sum this up as procrastination. Like I mentioned earlier, the reason this gal’s videos caught my eye is because of the area I fall into, the mindset of “it can wait.” Whether it’s in keeping my house really clean, or taking action on stuff I should get rid of. I overcomplicate these decisions and I don’t take action, and yet on some level it really bugs me. How about for you? What are you thinking about this topic for yourself. What are the areas you are challenged with in making this mindset shift? As I probably expect, I have action steps for you to take!

1. Figure out the area! For me, it’s doing the light cleaning and especially the deep cleaning of my house.
2. Write it down. You know the one that you keep putting off, write all of the details. Picture how you will feel if you master this area?
3. Ask yourself am I making this thing bigger than it needs to be? Do I consistently complain about this thing and I don’t do anything to change this situation? Am I being the complaining-no-action type person?
4. Simplify the thing. Break it down into doable actions.
5. Simplify the Process: Use straightforward, practical steps to make cleaning efficient and achievable!
6. Incorporate Routine: Break cleaning into daily segments (morning, afternoon, or night) to establish consistency and make it manageable.

Kylie motivates with tough love. She gives her viewers the why. She encourage viewers to take control of their space, she emphasizes how cleaning can improve mental clarity and overall well-being. I think this one is essential, she gives them their “why.” The clutter in our space, getting that under control goes hand-in-hand with the clutter in our brains, in our over-thinking about it. Even if it is subconscious.

Now, her last step, which I believe is the most important: it’s Action! She talks about motion, staying in motion. Seeing something and doing something about it right now. Don’t put it off, have a regular routine and get things done. Keeping our home clean because we live there. We need to have a clean home, for us and our family. No more excuses. I just loved her tough love approach! My biggest takeaway is we can use this tough love on ourselves.

I am telling you, I was exactly where you are feeling the exact same way about those underlying things I’m putting off until I found Kylie’s videos several weeks ago. I saw the value in them and immediately took on some of her suggestions. Instead of having the mindset “it can wait,” I’ve decided to take on the mindset of “do it now.” What a difference this has made in my home. Where I was experiencing dread, I’m now getting on top of this area! My living space and my working space is looking better. I’m making the incremental changes, taking the necessary actions and the outcome has been incredible. It was not hard. It was a shift in my mindset.

So, using the Kylie approach, it’s time for us all to have some tough love! Today’s post is all about the mindset shift between “Do It Now” and “It Can Wait.” Let’s get real with ourselves—how often do we overcomplicate simple tasks, let procrastination take over, and then feel overwhelmed? Whether it’s cleaning our house, sorting through clutter, or tackling that project we’ve been putting off, the truth is: it’s not hard—we’re just making it hard.

I feel we can all be Inspired by Kylie Perkins’ no-nonsense approach. Let’s stop convincing ourselves that tasks are monumental. Laundry? Not hard. Decluttering? Not hard. The problem isn’t the task—it’s our mindset. When you delay action, you let things pile up, both physically and mentally. The solution? Simplify the process, create a routine, and most importantly—take action now!

Ask yourself: Am I being the “complaining no-action?” Let’s stop waiting for motivation or the “perfect moment.” The perfect moment doesn’t exist. The clutter in our space mirrors the clutter in our mind. We can take control of both by moving into action today. This is part of living your best life!

Here’s your challenge: Identify one area where you’ve been saying “it can wait.” Write it down, break it into small steps, and tackle it head-on. Remember—motion creates momentum. No more excuses. Do it now! Your future self will thank you!

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Monette hosts a weekly podcast: Mornings with Monette. She has been a lifelong learner and and appreciates the opportunity to share what she has learned–both through her podcast and here at The Best-Life Project (based on the content of her weekly podcast). Her messages are raw, honest and straight from the heart. She lives in Albuquerque, NM with her husband Leland. They have three adult children and are enjoying living their best lives filled with travel and adventure. For more information, visit: http://morningswithmonette.com/.