» PATRICK PIERCE – [email protected]
Procrastination: It’s that dreadful word which seems to be first in nearly every college student’s vocabulary. We’ve all done it at least once; whether it’s watching the latest episode of “Jersey Shore,” hanging out with friends, texting your BFF or just catching up on sleep instead of doing what was necessary.
Understanding procrastination is the first step to overcoming it. Everyone deals with procrastination in some way, and because of this; everyone handles it differently. There are ways to live life procrastination-free, if you simply take the time. First, we need to understand why we do this to ourselves.
Kyle Davis, an APSU student, said, “I think it’s pretty much because I’m lazy. I think to myself, the assignment isn’t due until Sunday night and it’s only Thursday. I could be watching ‘The Walking Dead.’”
Davis said he manages to complete the assignment before it’s due and always gets a good grade, so he never worries about procrastination. This may be the case, but is it worth the headache from all the stress that builds up? Maurice Testa, another APSU student, seems to think so.
“I work best under pressure. I know I have two weeks to do the assignment, but I wait until a few days before it’s due because I have so many other things I need to be doing,” Testa said. For him, procrastination isn’t much of an excuse, but a way of prioritizing. This doesn’t work for everyone though.
As we reach the end of the semester, many students are burned out on classes. We hear the words constantly: “Oh, I’ll finish it later” or, “I do this all the time and get away with it.” Students claim they procrastinate because it’s simply habit to them.
There are extreme cases of Adult Attention-Deficit Disorder, of course. By no means am I concluding if you find “South Park” on TV to be more entertaining than your 1,500 word literature review you are suffering from AADD. Also, I’m not defending procrastination as a way to avoid doing an assignment. It’s human nature to procrastinate. On the bright side of things, there are ways to counter the will to procrastinate.
HealthGuidance.org suggests two things — moderate your work and reward yourself. By moderating your work, do a portion of it today and some of it tomorrow, little by little you’ll have the entire assignment done. Finally, reward your accomplishments. Tell yourself when you finish half the assignment, you’ll watch an hour of TV. Without a doubt, procrastination is a serious issue, but it doesn’t have to control your life if you just learn to understand it. TAS
