We all know the feeling when it is 8 pm and you have an assignment due at 12. But because it’s due at 12, you watch a movie, call your friends, start a new hobby, plan your summer trip that is definitely going to happen, and end up doing anything but what you’re supposed to do. But why do we always do this? And how can we stop it?
Amanda Acosta (freshman) commented, saying, “I find myself procrastinating all the time. It’s so bad.”
Well, first, why do we do it? First, it comes from fear. Your brain sees the task as a threat, so it avoids it. By avoiding it, it feels safer and like you are avoiding a threat, when in reality it really isn’t. Another fear, especially when it comes to big assignments, is the fear that you’re going to fail. For example, writing an essay worth half of your grade comes with anxiety. We avoid doing the work as a coping mechanism.
“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
― Shannon L. Alder
Another reason is due to perfectionism. I always find myself waiting for the perfect moment, when in reality there is no “perfect” moment to start. By waiting for the perfect moment, we are, in a way, doing it out of fear—fear that the things we do won’t be good enough if we start them now, and fear that we need to be perfect.
Lack of motivation is another common cause of procrastination, especially for school work. Tasks that we procrastinate on are often boring, like homework or cleaning. So instead, we probably end up doom-scrolling or doing anything that is more enjoyable while your work gets left untouched.
How does it affect us? Well, one effect is that when you give yourself no time to do work, the actual quality of the work itself is not as good compared to if you just started it earlier. And even while procrastinating, you feel guilty because you know you should be doing something, but you’re not. It also overall just leads us into the same cycle. But how can we stop this? Or, at least, how can we stop ourselves in the first place?
Well, we can’t 100% get rid of it—well, maybe for some. This article itself was put together the day before you are reading this due to procrastination and leaving things until the last minute. But there are some methods we can use.
One that works for me is writing things down and putting them into a list. Tasks can usually feel really overwhelming, but by breaking them down, they are less scary than a giant task. Another method that works is simply starting the thing for five minutes. Usually, we are scared to start something because we see it as scary, but once you simply do it-even for five minutes– it makes it way less daunting. And lastly, just putting away any distractions. I really like to use Opal to block out my apps during the time frame I am studying.
Overall, procrastination is something that we all face. From sending a text to starting an essay, we get overwhelmed, and it’s human. But we don’t have to stay stuck in it. Something as simple as asking yourself, “Why am I doing this?” can make a difference. But if we don’t do something now, when will we?
