Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today

Meaning: Avoid procrastination.

Who said it? Lord Chesterfield, letter to his son, 1749

Origin: Lord Chesterfield gave this advice in a 1749 letter to his son: "No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day." Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack has a close cousin: "Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today."

Equivalents in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, and 3 more languages

French: Ne remets pas à demain ce que tu peux faire aujourd'hui (literally: Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today)
Spanish: No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy (literally: Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today)
German: Was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen (literally: What you can take care of today, do not put off until tomorrow)
Italian: Non rimandare a domani quello che puoi fare oggi (literally: Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today)
Portuguese: Não deixes para amanhã o que podes fazer hoje (literally: Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today)
Russian: Не откладывай на завтра то, что можно сделать сегодня (Ne otkladyvay na zavtra to, chto mozhno sdelat' segodnya) (literally: Don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today)
Polish: Nie odkładaj na jutro tego, co masz zrobić dziś (literally: Don't put off till tomorrow what you must do today)
Arabic: لا تؤجل عمل اليوم إلى الغد (Lā tuʾajjil ʿamal al-yawm ilā al-ghad) (literally: Don't postpone today's work to tomorrow)