Procrastinating a Post on Procrastination. Hmm.

I am jealous of anyone who can honestly say they are not a procrastinator. I don't know how or when I necessarily started procrastinating so much, but I seriously need to kick this habit. I may just have no regard for time, or just an awful way of prioritizing what needs to be done, or I just have a really bad problem with avoiding distraction. Whatever the case may be, I find myself completing assignments minutes before the class period they are due. That's a problem.

The book explains a perspective of procrastination as "to delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay". Over the years, I found that procrastination hasn't always resulted in a situation that left me 'worse off'. I actually feel that I work better under pressure most of the time. The more time that is allotted, the less motivated I feel to complete what I have to do. I constantly find myself searching for available time in the future so I can postpone things until the last possible minute. Deadlines end up becoming the day I decide to actually do. I guess I enjoy self-induced stress and anxiety. However, it's the only way I can become entirely motivated to finish anything, as strenuous as that is sometimes.

Procrastination definitely reflects the amount of motivation a person possesses. It also displays what accomplishments people value over others. Of course if I have all week to go to the mall or do my essay, and tomorrow I have off, I'm going to choose to go to the mall. As you can see, I may value new clothes over writing a paper, even though that isn't necessarily the wisest decision. I think in order to conquer procrastination, people need to look at the long-term goal in front of them: I should write my paper, not go to the mall, because I'd rather graduate college in a month then have a new outfit to wear the next day. It just takes a matter of putting your responsibilities into perspective, and having the discipline to actually push yourself to achieve what you need to, even if it's not the most desirable choice at the time.

I'm trying to get better with my procrastination, however I haven't had to suffer any major consequences from being this way, so I haven't learned my lesson or felt a need to change. I always tell myself that I need to stop being this way, and to learn to be more responsible, and prioritize my time better... maybe I'll wait until tomorrow to start that.