farmdoc's blog post number 64

As I wrote last Saturday, I work hard. Therefore my sweetheart Vivienne and I are financially comfortable. One of the consequent joys of being so is donating money to our chosen charities and NGOs – about 20 in all. Each year I resolve to send the donations well before 30 June when the financial year ends. But it never happens; I can’t explain why. But, folks, it’s another exception to the bus stop principle – because as long as the donations are paid by 30 June, they are tax deductible in the current financial year. Yesterday, eight days before 30 June, the bus roared up behind me and I could procrastinate no longer. So with the aphorism The best way to get something done is to begin propelling me on, out came last year’s spreadsheet, the Donations file, and the calculator, chequebook, pen, stapler, envelopes and stamps. The job was done quickly. Surprisingly so. No bother at all. A perspicacious Chinese citizen once said that A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Yeah, yeah, sure, mate; so maybe next year I’ll pay the donations earlier. But equally perspicaciously, another Chinese citizen – or perhaps the same one – said that A one-inch error at the start can be a thousand miles at the end. So maybe I won’t.