2008 Woodie Awards
Procrastination Nation
Danny Dyer
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Now that school is full steam ahead, students all over the world are panicked. Why? It's 11 p.m. and there's a gargantuan paper due tomorrow that you haven't even started. You push for the minimum word limit by adding filler, or you put in extra spacing to get to the required page count or you make the font bigger - but it's never enough. Frustrated, you print out an undersized paper that you know you could have done so much better on.
That probably sounds familiar, right? We're all guilty of procrastinating at one point or another: it's just so easy and so tempting, we can't help ourselves. There's always something more interesting to do than homework. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we'll have time later on or that our work takes less time than it really does, and we're always wrong.
It has even been shown that procrastination and the resulting anxiety is bad for your health. In one study, students who procrastinated reported having symptoms of sickness as much as 1.5 times more often than students who didn't procrastinate.
But wait--you don't have to subject yourself to this treatment! Through experience, I've discovered that you can actually procrastinate some and still get your work done, just as long as you slack off in moderation. To do so will require a slight effort, but taking the initiative is the first step towards having a more stress-free life, something we could all gain appreciate.
An excellent method of managing your day is to keep a to-do list. Rate each assignment with priority levels - things you have to get done right away (high), things you should do soon (medium) and things you can do when you have time to do them (low). By doing this, you are able to solidify what you need to do in your mind and the time frame you have to do it.
If the assignment is a term paper or a project, divide it up and set realistic goals. Remind yourself of how good you will feel when you're done, and you won't have to do it the night before.
Of course, though, you'll put these tasks off at the end of the day. So, instead of waiting for a more opportune moment to do it - i.e., "when I feel more like doing it" - set a period of time in the morning before anything else, when you can complete one high-priority task and one medium-priority task. Set everything aside (Facebook, MySpace, e-mail, etc.), get yourself comfortable and just knock it out. From there, you can go on with your day feeling accomplished and satisfied.
Now, all you have to do is put this into action. Don't feel like doing it? Oh well, just do it later.
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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.
That probably sounds familiar, right? We're all guilty of procrastinating at one point or another: it's just so easy and so tempting, we can't help ourselves. There's always something more interesting to do than homework. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we'll have time later on or that our work takes less time than it really does, and we're always wrong.
It has even been shown that procrastination and the resulting anxiety is bad for your health. In one study, students who procrastinated reported having symptoms of sickness as much as 1.5 times more often than students who didn't procrastinate.
But wait--you don't have to subject yourself to this treatment! Through experience, I've discovered that you can actually procrastinate some and still get your work done, just as long as you slack off in moderation. To do so will require a slight effort, but taking the initiative is the first step towards having a more stress-free life, something we could all gain appreciate.
An excellent method of managing your day is to keep a to-do list. Rate each assignment with priority levels - things you have to get done right away (high), things you should do soon (medium) and things you can do when you have time to do them (low). By doing this, you are able to solidify what you need to do in your mind and the time frame you have to do it.
If the assignment is a term paper or a project, divide it up and set realistic goals. Remind yourself of how good you will feel when you're done, and you won't have to do it the night before.
Of course, though, you'll put these tasks off at the end of the day. So, instead of waiting for a more opportune moment to do it - i.e., "when I feel more like doing it" - set a period of time in the morning before anything else, when you can complete one high-priority task and one medium-priority task. Set everything aside (Facebook, MySpace, e-mail, etc.), get yourself comfortable and just knock it out. From there, you can go on with your day feeling accomplished and satisfied.
Now, all you have to do is put this into action. Don't feel like doing it? Oh well, just do it later.
-----------------------------------------------------
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.