Isaac the Procrastinator
Proverbs 10:4
“Isaac the Procrastinator” is episode #148 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written and directed by Phil Lollar, and originally aired on April 6, 1991.
Summary
After Isaac Morton lets some of his projects drag, Whit helps him get over his procrastination with an interesting method.
Plot
Isaac Morton is doing a lot of heavy-duty praying. He has a report due today. It's not ready, so Isaac is praying that God will let the bell ring before his teacher calls on him to deliver it. Amazingly, that’s exactly what happens now, Isaac has the weekend to finish the report.
But Lucy Cunningham-Schultz finds Isaac in the mall on Saturday morning, looking at books on space travel. She confronts him about it. Then Lucy asks if Isaac has done any work on their joint geometry project, which is due in a week. He hasn’t, but he promises to get to it immediately. Isaac leaves to go directly to the library. But before he can get there, he is distracted by a hot Zapazoids tournament.
Meanwhile, Lucy goes to Whit's End, where she learns that Isaac owes yet another project to Dale Jacobs! Lucy and Dale are ready to dump Isaac, but Whit asks them to be patient. He has a plan to cure Isaac of his procrastination.
The next day, Isaac comes into Whit’s End. Whit convinces Isaac that he is suffering from a disease, chronic procrastinitus. Whit says he has the only known treatment for it, so Isaac begs for a dose of the medicine. Whit hands him the treatment. Isaac drinks it down and almost immediately feels it working! He instantly starts a flurry of work, completing Dale Jacobs’s project in just a few hours.
Isaac is amazed at the effectiveness of Whit’s treatment, until Whit tells Isaac that it was only lemonade. ‘Chronic procrastinitus’ is just a fancy term for laziness. The reason Isaac was able to complete the work so quickly was because he finally decided to just do it. Isaac has learned his lesson and promises to, in the future, perform his tasks right away.
Discussion Questions
- Why did Isaac keep putting off his work?
- How does God feel about laziness?
- What’s the best way to combat procrastination?
- Why did Lucy give Isaac another chance?
Cast
Heard in episode
Mentioned in episode
Character | Mentioned By |
---|---|
Robyn Jacobs | John Whittaker |
Melanie Jacobs | John Whittaker |
Jimmy Barclay | Artie Powell |
Jerry Morton | John Whittaker |
Doc Morton | John Whittaker |
Notes
- Trivia
- Hal Smith was out of town when “Isaac the Procrastinator” was recorded, so all of Whit's lines had to be recorded “wild” (separately) and added in later.
Quotes
Isaac Morton: What are you, my mother? Look, not that it's any of your business, but it's only Saturday morning. I've got the rest of the weekend to do this report. Everything's under control. So don't worry about it, okay?
Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: Okay, you don't have to get hyper. It's your grade.
John Whittaker: Well, to put it delicately. I think you're suffering from an illness Isaac.
Isaac Morton: An illness? What kind of an illness?
John Whittaker: Unless I miss my guess, I think it's chronic procrastinitus.
Isaac Morton: Chron—chronic pro—
John Whittaker: Chronic procrastinitus. It's an illness that effects your motor skills. Movement and such.
John Whittaker: Yup, it's chronic procrastinitus all right. Sounds like an acute case, too.
Isaac Morton: I'd better see a doctor.
Chris Anthony: Bob? Bob! Can you tell me what this is? A piece of paper with a circle on it with the letters T-U-I-T written inside it?
Bob Luttrell: Oh. It's around to it.
John Whittaker: ...and now it's the best lemonade in the county.
Isaac Morton: Yep, it's the best lemo—what?
John Whittaker: Yep. Lem-on-ade.
Mr. Ligner: All right, Isaac, it looks like you're— <bell rings>
Isaac Morton: SAVED!
Mr. Phillips: The illustrations in there are first-rate in their detail.
Isaac Morton: Not only that, but they show everything really well.
Isaac Morton: What do I look like—a schmoe?!
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