Procrastination. It is an omnipresent thing lurking in the head of all those who do work. I’m procrastinating right now while writing this. I’ve delayed writing this article at least five times after things popped into my head at random intervals, most of them completely unnecessary deviations only meant to prolong my time away from writing this. Truly, procrastination is the worst evil in schooling. It gets especially acute as a senior: you’re so close to the end, yet so far at the same time, and although the days to graduation may be ticking down, it's always still a year's worth of time until that point.
Procrastination has plagued me for the longest time. I was a hyper little kid way back when, and I always had trouble sitting still and doing work. I stopped being a hyper little kid, and despite the fact that the problem has reduced in scope, the overall problem remains: I have trouble focusing on work. Try as I might to finish my work in a timely manner, I have to postpone it for another date, and console myself with the thought that “I’ll be able to finish it later.” I do end up finishing it, but months later, after the thought re-emerges in the back of my head.
Clearly, this is an untenable state of affairs. Nobody can survive in school while constantly pushing off work to the end of the quarter and failing to finish what they start. However, this is going to end up being the reality for many people, and sometimes it becomes the reality multiple times for some people. Everyone is going to end up dealing with this at some point, and it is better to be aware of it and to have a way to counteract it when it does happen. Think of this article like a PSA.
I’ve always had a really cluttered workspace, and I think that is part of the reason why procrastination is such a big issue for me. Maybe that applies to others, maybe it doesn’t. It just seems weird to me how one moment I could be completely focused on one subject, and within several seconds my mind would 180 away from the task at hand and I won’t remember what I was doing for hours on end. Despite how laughable that may be to some, it’s not entirely abnormal to me. I have yet to remember the amount of times that this exact scenario has played out.
Procrastination is especially a big issue for people around vacations and around the end of the school year. Ask any teacher or any senior, and they will probably be able to waffle on for what feels like hours about senioritis or students failing to turn in their work. The situation is eventually resolved at the end, with students cramming to get their work done (or not) and teachers gradie it. However, the process is awfully cyclical, and it appears it will never slow down or stop.
Maybe someday, in the far future, people will be able to get a handle on their procrastination. However, that day might as well stay in the far future, because if people are able to handle themselves with procrastination in the picture, who is to say that anything will change?
