The perplexing process of procrastination
Finish that essay due in the morning or binge watch Netflix?
One of the greatest struggles of being a college student is the constant battle with procrastination. A ten minute assignment can get drawn out into an hour long ordeal with the intervention of memes and miscellaneous articles such as this one. Will you get your work done on time?
We are all guilty of it. Whether you are putting off that one chemistry lab report or if it is a daily struggle, we all procrastinate.
The deadline was a week away, now it is the night before it is due, and you are still left with a blank piece of paper starring back at you. After starring at said document for a few minutes, you decide to check your email before you get down to work.
While online, you figure it could not hurt to go on Buzzfeed or YouTube for a minute, so you indulge yourself in the wonders of the internet. It is not until a few hours later, when you find yourself watching a video of fainting goats to a dubstep remix, that you convince yourself should be working.
Getting back on task, you put your name on your assignment before you realize you have no clue what you are doing. You also notice how hungry you are, and who can really get any work done on an empty stomach?
One trip to Chipotle later, you are at your desk ready to work. Then you remember about the pile of dishes that have been accumulating, and tell yourself it would be thoughtless to leave them for your roommate to clean. You clean and reorganize, finally feeling productive, but when you look at the clock it is two a.m.
It is time to buckle down. You get an energy drink or coffee, pick your poison, and try to keep your eyes from falling shut. After struggling to write a simple sentence, the combination of panic and caffeine kick in and it finally hits you, inspiration!
Words flow from your mind to your fingertips and onto your Word document. You are a genius. You feel like Van Gogh painting Starry Night. You are in the zone.
When you finish, you can still feel the energy running through your mind, but sleep is much more important. In the morning, you attempt to get ready for class with that special brand of all-nighter hangover calling you back to bed. You proofread your assignment before turning it in and grimace at the reality of it. Maybe it was not as clever as you had thought, but hey, at least it is something.
In retrospect, you regret procrastinating and tell yourself, it will never happen again. …
At least not until later that night.