“Now” is an anagram for “won” and “own.” “Later” is an anagram for “alert.” These concepts apply to procrastination. The former describes succeeding and arising victorious in completing an assignment and possessing control over one’s sentiments and life, respectively. The latter depicts a warning and foreshadowing of the detriments of delaying. According to Google and Oxford Languages, procrastination is defined as “the action of delaying or postponing something.” It is a common struggle many encounter; I’ve certainly had myself. Let’s explore my experience with procrastination and how I tackled it.
Procrastination first barged into my humdrum life shortly after I received my very first personal device for my 12th birthday. I recall the vivid moment when I ecstatically unravelled the ribbon, hastily stripped off the tape, and vigorously tore the red polka-dotted wrapping paper off my present. A surprise laid inside the box: a rectangular object with a golden, gleaming exterior, a reflective mirroring Apple logo, and a camera lens resembling a cooked boba pearl. It was an iPad mini 4. And now it was my iPad mini 4. This item had been on my wish list since forever. I yearned for it as every single one of my peers had an electronic gadget of their own. However, my newly possessed device was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I became susceptible to a plethora of unprecedented distractions on my iPad. The access to the internet tempted all sorts of time misuse. As time flew by, procrastination progressively and discreetly seeped into my life and began to take its toll. Contrary, my work ethic positively shifted during an incident during my freshman year of high school.
The COVID pandemic altered the school course schedules. My teachers crammed as many in-person evaluations because of the limited time we were physically together (for the hybrid model). I was assigned a summative geography slideshow presentation, which I had two weeks to complete. However, I merely spent a fraction of the time. Against all odds, I succeeded in fabricating a product, albeit with an abundance of repercussions. Leading up to the presentation date, I procrastinated. Immensely.
I neglected this given workload and only completed it at the very last minute. While being sidetracked, I would provide excuses for myself to evade commencing the project. Aside from the distractions on my iPad, I lacked motivation and concentration in general. I was reluctant to start because, in my eyes, this project was tedious, irritating, and challenging.
I was aware of my wrongdoing when procrastinating, but would rather experience a moment of maximum immediate gratification. To alleviate my irrationality in my misdeed, I would opt for my iPad. Every time I turned on the pitch-black screen, I always felt a surge of jubilation and thrill. I then tumbled down a rabbit hole of binge-watching YouTube videos, playing games, and texting friends—the wolf had revealed itself. These activities put me in a false sense of security and perpetuated an unhealthy coping mechanism—I was in a state of denial.
As the due date rolled around, the crisis struck. My brain went into high gear from its former hibernation. Tsunamis of panic and stress flooded my mind, followed by violent waves of guilt, shame, frustration, and despair that would replete the void of this uncompleted project. I remember scraping my disorganized thoughts and frantically struggling to fill in the white blank slides. The deadline triggered this last-minute productivity of my fear of failure.
The aftermath included a compromised work quality, eroded self-esteem, fatigue from sacrificed sleeping hours, negatively impacted my reputation and social connections, and a lowered mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
After the presentation, I realized the severity of my procrastination issue and concluded that I must engage in self-improvement and personal growth. I vowed to better myself by employing a few of the following tips:
Optimize Your Environment
Your setting can influence your productivity—whether aiding or hindering it. An excessive amount of clutter causes disturbances; on the other hand, an organized room does the opposite. I suggest these techniques: study in a tidied room, eliminate any potential distractions, notably, beware of technology—I recommend silencing the notifications on social platforms—and consider with whom and where you’re working.
Break Down Your Workload
You may feel overwhelmed, intimidated, or impotent with a sizable assignment. Divide it into reasonable chunks (using SMART goals) and complete them according to your personal given deadlines. It facilitates the execution of a specific task, allows you to stay on track, and relieves stress buildup.
Use an Organizational System
Use an organizational system (calendars, agendas, to-do lists, checklists, etc.) to prioritize tasks (focus on the ones closest to upcoming due dates). Indicate a deadline before the given one. It determines your work progress and may even motivate you (from the satisfaction of crossing completed tasks).
For those who resonate with this experience, I hope this blog reflects and sets mindfulness of yourself and your procrastinating thought process. In all honesty, my journey was not all smooth sailing. I occasionally relapsed into the old bad habits, although the previously implemented pointers guided me—in baby steps—in inducing positive self-changes. They enabled more self-discipline, like a restrained number of excuses, promoted better time management, and enhanced commitment. Bearing everything in mind, by recognizing our imperfections and learning from past events, we can strive for change towards betterment. As long as you start somewhere, now rather than later, you’ve advanced into your first stepping stone towards overcoming procrastination and achieving newfound productivity!
Bibliography
Boisjoly, Renaud. “Queen of Procrastination.” Studyo, 20 February 2019, https://studyo.co/queen-of-procrastination/. Accessed 16 June 2021.
Google, and Oxford Languages. “Google Definitions.” procrastination definition, https://www.google.com/search?q=procrastination+definition. Accessed 16 June 2021.
Edited by Shaaminy Kathir
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I am Dorothy Zhong, a pre-IB sophomore currently attending Milliken Mills High School. I am fond of the arts, mainly singing and dancing, due to their versatility, universality, and methods of self-expression. I’ve always enjoyed sharing my experiences with others; hence I hope students benefit academically from this blog!
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