...The Fine Art of Procrastination

So, procrastination. Apparently ‘the ultimate barrier to a good education experience’ or something like that. The cause of stressful all-nighters, almost falling asleep in class, and the inevitable misspellings and stupid mistakes that end up in the project completed at 1:00am. But these are symptoms of a first or second time procrastinator. I myself happen to be an expert procrastinator so I have refined my putting-it-off-until-the-night-or-even-morning-before-it’s-due skills.



 I have been told countless times by my parents, exasperated friends, and even my 9 year old brother, that I should stop watching Netflix, or running around outside, or having FUN, and just suck it up and do it. But I think it actually takes incredible skill to write a 4 page essay (that was assigned two or three weeks ago) in only 1 hour at 11:00 at night. The final result can actually be surprisingly good. Because for experienced procrastinators such as myself, some pretty good writing and ideas come from the delirious final hours filled with the glow of the computer screen, the ticking clock, and late-night snacks that are the results of extreme procrastination.

 The idea that a huge, enormous project is due tomorrow morning, and I only have a couple of hours to complete it, somehow spurs me into action, the ‘I really have to get this done NOW’ type of action. If you are given a real, legitimate time limit, it is much harder to succumb to meaningless distractions, such as your phone, and just finish the task at hand.

When working on a project you have procrastinated on, you may find yourself getting small rushes of adrenaline, and also randomly pumping your fists and shouting “YES!” when you finally turn the project in.
I mean, it really feels good to turn in a project that you just worked really hard on for a solid two hours, and  barely made the deadline for turning it in versus turning in a project 2 days early that you spent little amounts of time on until it was done, so when you finally turned it in it was like “Oh ok so that’s done now. What’s next.”



Another positive side effect of procrastination is not really having to worry about the project until the very last minute. Personally, this reduces my stress about school. I mean, I can have weeks of not worrying and watching TV, and rock climbing, and having fun in exchange for a couple of hours of really intense stress. I think it’s worth it*. Procrastinating can also kind of boost self-confidence because you're able to say “Hey, I know I can do this two week project in an hour and still have it turn out well” (however you can only say this if you continually pull off procrastinating). Whether you procrastinate or not, always know that the option is open**, should you find yourself wanting to watch the new season of Stranger Things, or play Capture the Flag at night, or even just have a thoughtful discussion with your family or whatever.
Taking into account that I’m writing this very late at night (procrastination), thank you for reading my blog!



*Note: Procrastinating should only be done if a project is individual. Procrastinating on group projects is not recommended because it may lead to angry classmates/teachers/parents/everyone.



**Other note: (This one is for all the teachers) Only procrastinate if you are at least 85% sure you can turn the project or homework in on time, and done somewhat well.

***One more note: Procrastination may come with side effects such as getting a horrible grade, being really tired, and having mad/exasperated people asking you why you didn't finish it earlier.

-MC

For another view on procrastination click this link (video): https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator#t-831739 

For a more scientific view click on this link (article): https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/time-management/procrastination OR on this link (another article): http://share.upmc.com/2015/07/the-science-behind-procrastination/?doing_wp_cron=1517467571.2776761054992675781250