The Art of Procrastination
- Caitlin Brown
- Dec 9, 2019
- 2 min read
If you're in high school or any school for that matter, then you are likely well-versed in the art of procrastination. I know I am. For the lucky ones who are blissfully ignorant of what procrastination is, it is when you put off something that needs to be done until the very last minute.
It's something almost everyone I know does. And it certainly has it's pros and cons, and that's what we are going to be looking at today.
Pros:
You have a heck of a lot of free time
Bragging rights, depending on how long you procrastinate for
That's literally it, there's nothing else.
Cons:
Statistics have shown that people who procrastinate on a regular basis are more stressed, anxious, and frustrated than the average person
Excessive procrastination can lead to crippling depression and low-self esteem
So, obviously the cons outweigh the pros. But there is good news, despite your inevitable depression. You are not lazy. According to my sources, procrastination is linked to a number of things and laziness definitely isn't one of them. I thought I was lazy forever and ever until I wrote this post.
According to oxfordlearning.com causes of procrastination include, "lack of motivation, low self-confidence, fear of failure, lack of understanding, trouble concentrating, perfectionism, low energy levels and/or poor organization skills". I know for a fact that I suffer from more than a few of these and looking back, that's probably why I didn't study for Chemistry midterms until the day of.
But never fear! There's a remedy for this infectious disease! And it's actually feasible for the average high-school student to do on their own! For starters, you should break your project down into several small tasks. That way, you can do just a little bit at a time and it makes the overall project seem a lot smaller. Next, get rid of unrealistic goals. Fitting an entire book into 1,500 words is not possible. So is creating a holographic image of the solar system. Looking at you Bree. So keep your goals small and reasonable, so you don't stress yourself out trying to do something physically impossible.
Another idea is to list out the things you were going to do "tomorrow". Then choose one thing on it to do right now, and ask yourself, "what's the worst that could happen?" It's probably not that bad. Maybe you have to cut back on your fanfiction reading time. Or your staring endlessly into a completely full refrigerator time.
Am I telling you guys to do something that I am never going to do until it's too late? Yes, I am. Now, these are all things that I could definitely see myself doing. But will I? Probably not. But I mean, I'll get to it tomorrow!
Sources:
Comments