I’ll Do It Later!

Posted on November 16, 2009
Filed Under Do Everything Better, Words, words, words | By Ashley Singh

daliclock.jpgI am a sworn Procrastinator. I have been doing it as long as I can remember. I actually remember being in grade school and my parents would have to sit me down and make me do my homework at the table because I didn’t want to do it right then, or at all. Sometimes I procrastinate because I can’t come up with a good idea (i.e. writer’s block), or I just don’t want to do it, or I’m afraid, or I just tell myself that there’s no time to do it. I find myself writing a ten-page paper the night before it’s due, agonizing over how to start it, or why this stupid paper has to be ten pages; can I get away with eight? I ask myself, maybe I could fluff up the last two pages and just ramble on and on until the last paragraph hits page ten. But at the same time, I have written some of my best papers at midnight, and I tend to work best under pressure: it brings out the competitive, Type-A personality in me, and I love the responsibility that comes out of the pressure. But at the same time, procrastination has some serious drawbacks. Cramming doesn’t work, and no matter how much I try to convince myself, how much vocabulary I try to memorize, how late I stay up, I will not do as well on that test as I could have had I started studying a week ago.

Psychology Today did a feature on procrastination. They say:

Procrastination is not a problem of time management or of planning. Procrastinators are not different in their ability to estimate time, although they are more optimistic than others…procrastination is learned in the family milieu, but not directly. Having a harsh, controlling father keeps children from developing the ability to regulate themselves…Procrastination predicts higher levels of consumption of alcohol among those people who drink…that is over and above the effect of avoidant coping styles that underlie procrastination and lead to disengagement via substance abuse. Procrastinators tell lies to themselves, such as…”I work best under pressure.” But in fact they do not…work best under pressure…another big lie procrastinators indulge is that time pressure makes them more creative. Unfortunately they do not turn out to be more creative; they only feel that way. They squander their resources.

See first paragraph! (I’m slightly embarrassed!)

The article goes on to identify three types of procrastinators: “arousal types, or thrill-seekers, who wait to the last minute for the euphoric rush; avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, but in either case are very concerned with what others think of them; decisional procrastinators, who cannot make a decision, not making a decision absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events.”

College students who procrastinate are at a higher risk of compromising their immune systems, making themselves susceptible “to more colds, the flu, and gastrointestinal problems.” Also common among us is insomnia.

So no matter how much we think it is, procrastination is just not good. Do it, don’t do it, but I think Ellen Degeneres sums it up best: “procrastination is not the problem. It is the solution. It is the universe’s way of saying stop, slow down, you move too fast. Listen to the music. Whoa whoa, listen to the music. Because music makes the people come together, it makes the bourgeois and the rebel. So come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody try to love one another. Because what the world needs now is love, sweet love. And I know that love is a battlefield, but boogie on reggae woman because you’re gonna make it after all. So celebrate good times, come on. I’ve gotta stop I’ve gotta come to my senses, I’ve been out riding fences for so long… oops I did it again… um… What I’m trying to say is, if you leave tonight and you don’t remember anything else that I’ve said, leave here and remember this: Procrastinate now, don’t put it off.”

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