We work tomorrow for a better today.
Throughout my academic career, society has made it a point to make procrastination look really, really bad. And like the sheep that we all are, we believe them. But has anyone ever stopped and reconsidered this prevalent attitude? Is procrastination really as bad as people say?
No. It’s not.
Seriously. It’s my personal belief that procrastination implies completion. Well, okay. I know that’s a big assumption to make, but think about it. When someone says, “I procrastinated on my paper last night,” what assumption do you make? A) The person didn’t finish the paper or B) The person finished it, but it took some time to get there. (The answer is B, yo.) Procrastination is just delaying some action for another time, and eventually, delayed actions are completed.
Take, for example, the story of how I came into existence. My mother told me I was supposed to be born in early July. Instead, I came about three weeks late and was born toward the end of the month. Sure, I put off being born, but I still went through with it, didn’t I?
Still, some might ask why you’d even put something off in the first place. Well, maybe your heart just isn’t in it at the time. In some cases, you shouldn’t do something if you’re not throwing yourself 100% into what it is you’re doing. Let’s go back to the story of my birth. Can you imagine if I went into this being born thing with only 50% the ambition? <Insert a comical visual of a baby who halfway through the birthing process decided to change her mind and stop what she was doing> I needed to procrastinate. I needed that time to feel fully motivated into being born.
I think it paid off because come July 27, I was ready to make my entrance. On that day, I was at 100%, which I’m sure my mother appreciated (I’d like to think it was a team effort and my contribution was beneficial). And let me just say that what resulted was a beautiful birth.*
As you can see, procrastination isn’t really that bad. Things still get done, and sometimes, a person just needs to take some time away from the task they’re doing so they can come back even more energized to complete the task.
Tonight, for instance, I have to write a paper. I am in no way whatsoever motivated to write said paper. But! Will I do my assignment? Yes. Will I do it well? I’ll sure try. Will I do it now? Heck no. I’ll do it when the time is right. [Edit: Finished at 11:49]
In summary, procrastination isn’t that bad. That’s it.
By the way, my time management skills really aren’t as bad as I might make it seem. Really.
For more information on procrastination, go to the source of pretty much all my knowledge, Wikipedia, where you can learn what type of procrastinator you are!
*Actually, my mom has made it clear that out of her four kids, my birth was probably the hardest and most frustrating… Sorry, Mom! I’ll try to make it up to you by being easy to raise. Oops, too late for that.
