Mastering the art of procrastination takes great skill. I like to think of myself as an expert procrastinator, leaving everything for last minute but never failing to get things done. And yes, while the little voice in the back of my head is constantly howling “you have so much to do and so little time,” I somehow always make it through with a smile. Wondering if you’re a professional as well? Here are the top nine ways to tell if you are a procrastinator:
1. You don’t start your work until the night before it’s due.
Whether you were assigned a research paper two months or three weeks ago, it doesn’t really matter, because you won’t start it until 9pm the night before it’s due. Staying up to hear the birds chirp in the morning is anything but a foreign sound to you, as you are proficient in pulling all nighters.
2. You’re an organized mess.
If someone were to walk into your room, they’d assume a hurricane hit. Your stuff is all over the place, and you always tell yourself you’ll clean it tomorrow. Deep down you don’t really mind the mess, though, because only you know where everything is located.
3. You get ready at the last possible minute.
Need to be showered and dressed for school by 8:30 am? Not a problem! You set an alarm for 8:20 am, get out of bed at 8:24 and you are ready to go right on time.
4. You love whole numbers.
You always play games with yourself when staring at the clock. When its 7:36, you tell yourself you will start your work at 8. And then when its 8:02 and you’ve made no progress, you PROMISE yourself you’ll be on your way by 8:15.
5. You are social media crazy.
Your phone is NEVER more than five feet away from you, as it serves as the perfect device to keep you off track. Every 10 minutes you scroll through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat and see the same stories over and over again, because nothing has changed since you last checked.
6. You have a very short attention span.
You cannot last more than five minutes when reading or typing an assignment without taking a break. Any excuse is a great excuse to stop what you are doing and engage in another task.
7. You despise people who always get a jump-start.
You absolutely hate the people who manage their time wisely. You just want to slam your head against the desk when the kid next to you in class has had a review sheet made days in advance. Obviously you didn’t start studying four nights before the test, or else you wouldn’t get to experience the beauty of cramming the night before.
8. You give yourself motivational talks.
Some of your absolute favorite lines are “Next time I’ll start earlier” and “I’ll 100 percent get that done tomorrow.” Unfortunately, you never seem to practice what you preach and end up telling yourself the same thing every single time.
9. You are constantly daydreaming.
You enjoy nothing more than staring into space and thinking about your weekend plans and what you will do when you are done. Better yet, you love fantasizing about situations that will only ever occur in your head.
Lets face it: We all have those days where we tend to lose focus and procrastinate. If all of these traits tend to always apply to you, however, maybe its time to buckle down and stay on track!