Procrastination, the action of delaying or postponing something. The constant, “I’ll just do this later,” and countless other sayings, are ultimately used to validate our wasting of time. Now don’t get me wrong, not everyone procrastinates, but a large majority of people in any sort of school or practice have had their fair share of it.
Photo: Ariana Escobar/Flickr.
Especially being a student, I know I have definitely avoided doing homework or an activity for as long as I could with the idea that “I work better under pressure.” As a college student, I have changed my study and daily habits, but high school me was a little bit of a mess.
Hours upon hours of my time had been wasted by sleeping, watching Netflix, chatting with friends, scrolling aimlessly through my phone, or trying to find good music on whatever music app I can find when I could have been studying, reading, or being somewhat productive even with activities that weren’t directly school related.
Because of my misuse of time, early morning hours were no longer used for sleep, but instead for crammed studying and coffee or energy breaks. Although I felt productive rushing and skimming over my notes, for the most part, it was no way to actually try and gain any knowledge from information that would potentially be on my next test or quiz.
I faced the same consequences every time I procrastinated. I would feel unprepared, overwhelmed, nervous, anxious, and disappointed in myself for wasting valuable time. Although it took a while to transition from procrastinating to being proactive, the struggle taught me and still continues to teach me, that it is better to prepare ahead of time. With preparedness comes the ability to schedule work and leisure times equally which not only creates healthier habits but a healthier state of mind.
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