It’s finals and I still procrastinate. I’ve been fighting this disease for so long now. Actually, when the sem started I made it a goal to do everything as soon as it was given and not wait ’till the last minute (I hope I learned my lesson after the BC25 first draft episode). But no matter how hard I try, it is unavoidable. You see, if I do it immediately, as in after a stressful day in school, I’d feel drained and that’s not good for the quality of my work as the state of mind of a person can affect the output greatly. And second, if all I do is related to schoolwork that means I don’t have time to read newspapers or magazines and catch up with what’s happening around the world and that’s just terrible. I don’t want to live under a rock!
You see? I have a LOT of excuses to not strike when the iron is hot. So how do I avoid procrastination for good? Before I go to the solution of this ever-present problem, let’s take a good look at the cause.
Procrastination is the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off to a future time; delay; dilatoriness. Okay. So we all know that. But what do we do when we delay doing an important thing?
Case study:
There was a college girl who took up Mass Communication because she said she loved writing, talking, curious about advertising and marketing and all the things masscom students are supposed to do. Anyway, on a Saturday morning her alarm clock rang at 7:15. Although she would usually sleep until 11am on weekends, she woke up early that day to do everything she has to do. She reached for her dark blue planner and took a look at what she’s supposed to do that day (she has carefully written everything in detail the night before so that she won’t waste her precious time in thinking of what to do the next morning.) Quite proud of herself, she picked up her bible and prayed. After praying, she took a quick shower and prepared coffee to start her day. While sipping her favorite mug of hot coffee, she picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and turned to chapter 15, sat down on an uncomfortable plastic chair and started reading. After one chapter, the coffee mug was still half full so she decided to read another chapter. An hour and a half later, she closed the book, picked up the mug and washed it. She decided it was time to start reading her Com21 photocopies. Plopping down on a chair, photocopy and yellow highlighter in hand, she read the first paragraph. As she was about to start reading the second paragraph, a thought popped up and she decided to write about it. So she picked up her purple hard-bound journal and black Pilot pen and started scribbling. An hour later and six pages filled-up, she decided to continue her readings. Halfway through the second paragraph, her cellphone beeped. It was a text message from her friend inviting her out to an early lunch. She then decided to bring her photocopied readings so she could read while waiting for the food. Dressed in a tank top and jeans with a black and white headband secured neatly and white ballet flats on her feet, she picked up her black backpack and left confident the day is still long enough. After lunch, at exactly 2pm, she decided to go the library and study there in peace. Boy, was she wrong! The first floor was crowded so she went to the second floor but it was also crowded. With no choice left, she headed to the third floor sans air conditioning. She placed her things on a table and took a newspaper for matter loading purposes. After reading almost every article, she decided to go to the first floor and study in the ASRC. It was 3pm. In the ASRC, she sat on her favorite corner and took out her readings. Then she saw a copy of The Best American Travel Stories 2002. She took it from the shelf and read it instead. Time flew fast and it was 5:30pm. Time for the library to close. Outside the library, she decided to go back to the boarding house and study foe real. Her cellphone beeped and the message was from a fellow debater. She decided that she wanted to casebuild after all and went, completely forgetting about the photocopied readings folded inside her bag, waiting to be read. At 9pm, after casebuilding, everyone decided to go out for dinner. At 11pm, she was back in her boarding house, tired. She only had enough energy to change into her sleeping clothes, brush her teeth, crawl to bed, and pray. As she lay down, she felt extremely guilty but decided that she could do it tomorrow.
What happened to the list she made? What happened to her promise? That’s how powerful procrastination can be. And it’s sad. Very sad.
Active avoidance. That’s how to describe procrastination best. Active may be a good word but not when the next word is avoidance. It sounds pretty nasty.
So what do you think should that girl do in order to avoid doing that again? FOCUS.
Yeah right. It’s easier said (or written) than done. *sigh*
