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The 7 Stages of Procrastination

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rochester chapter.

1. Denial

“I can totally write this paper tomorrow! No problem.” Except you said the exact same thing yesterday… and the day before.

2. Freak-Out

“Oh GOD what do you mean this is due tomorrow?? I have written 1 page and I need 7. Help help help.” This is that feeling in your gut that makes you feel like you’re dying and that your whole world is over because you realize you’re not going to make the deadline, and if you do, your assignment will not be the greatest you’ve ever done. This is definitely where the drama sets in for most.

3. Spurt of Productivity

So you decide you’re gonna get your sh*t together and you actually get some work done! You put some focus music on, you eat on-the-go meals, you’ve organized all your Google Chrome tabs and windows. You’re cranking out some stellar stuff!

4. Crash

A few hours later and you’re trolling BuzzFeed. What happened?? You were doing so well. But you figured after writing 4 more pages (over the course of a few hours) you would have a breakdown if you continued… you deserve a break right?

5. Sporadic Productivity

We’ve all been here. This is the time when we do some work for a good 5-10 minutes, then go back on Facebook to see if anyone has updated anything in those past few minutes. It’s a little hectic, but at least some work is getting done.

6. Plateau

You can see the finish line! You’re almost done with this darn assignment! At this point it’s 1 a.m. and you just want to hand in the assignment already. The last bits of it may not even make sense, but HEY you finished it!

7. Acceptance and Relief

Man what a whirlwind! That was definitely a trying time for all involved. You realize that procrastination is not the way to live, there is too much stress and anxiety involved! You vow to make a to do list, to get a head start on your work… but you can do all that tomorrow.

Currently a Senior at the University of Rochester. I'm an English major, with a focus on media, editing, and publishing. I'm a sister of Phi Sigma Sigma, a member of College Feminists, and a Building Manager in Wilson Commons aka the greatest. In my free time (of which there is rarely any), I love to read, talk about/watch baseball, learn new things, and do fun things with my squad.