COLUMN: Be a professional procrastinator
This time of year, students are forced to show their true college colors.
Days before spring break, you were thinking about how much you would accomplish during a stress-free week of no school. Those projects assigned on the first day of class worth 50 percent of your grade were going to be complete. You convinced yourself you would actually read your textbook because the subject actually interests you.
Then spring break came and went, and all you were left with was the perfect excuse. Vacations are crucial for mental health and emotional stability. Hitting the books instead of the parties would have been counterproductive to your well-being.
You returned to classes – maybe with a tan – and could not help but feel a little more stressed. A holiday was right around the corner, and even though it’s only a weekend long, it would give you a chance to seek refuge at home. Escaping the endless escapades of a college town would surely allow you to focus on your studies.
But nobody goes home for a holiday to do homework. What would your family and friends think if you skipped the annual Easter egg hunt to write a paper?
You returned to classes – maybe with some leftover candy – and here you are now, becoming more aware of the hole you have dug yourself into.
For first-years, the overwhelming desperation might be a new feeling, but thousands of seasoned students are quite aware of how far they have fallen behind and equally aware of how to catch back up.
There are two types of these students: professional procrastinators and panicked procrastinators.
On the outside, they appear much the same: Discombobulated, sitting behind a desk with a clutter of notes and post-its and a caffeinated beverage bordering on room temperature. However, the mentalities of the two are polar opposite.
The professionals convince themselves they have the will-power and ability to perform under pressure. They harness their stress into creative problem solving. Those who panic let the stress eat away at them. Instead of thinking of solutions, they can only think of all the ways they will fail.
We all know who wins. Everybody has bad days and bad weeks and bad months, but everybody has the ability to succeed no matter the situation.
