Every delay charges interest. On health. On relationships. On codebases. On debt—literal and technical.

Banks aren't the only ones billing you. Procrastination creates compounding liabilities. Skip sleep; pay in fog. Postpone hard conversations; pay in resentment. Delay refactors; pay in bugs. Push fitness; pay in slow recovery later. Time is the principal. Interest shows up as friction.

The antidote is tiny amortized payments. Ten minutes of stretching each morning. Weekly code cleanup. Friday finance check‑in. Calling your mother now. These are micro‑payments that stop interest from ballooning.

Sometimes you should borrow time—strategically. Pull an all‑nighter to hit a once‑off deadline? Fine. But treat it like a loan: repay with sleep and recovery, not with bravado.

If avoiding a task increases future complexity, pay now. If a delay unlocks much bigger upside, delay intentionally—with a date and a plan.