It’s a tale as old as time. A student is given a task and a deadline. That student then finds every possible way to avoid completing said task, thus missing said deadline. To say I am a procrastinator is an understatement; I have dedicated my life to the art of procrastination. One could say I’m a procrastinating virtuoso. I am so excellent at procrastinating that when I asked my roommates if they had ever seen me work on an assignment in a timely manner (or complete one in general), they literally could not name one time. Not one!
This old habit has turned into a way of life over the past few years. I can’t remember a paper at Vassar that I didn’t start a day before it was due. I don’t know what it is, but that rush that I get from stress-writing the last paragraph of a 10-page paper minutes before it is due is unlike any other experience I’ve ever gone through. However, I would like to say that if any of my professors are reading this, this is a humor column and I am a dramatic college student so don’t take it too seriously (even though this is all very true).
When I get an assignment, I like to mull it over for a couple of days to really get a clear idea of how I want to write it. But sometimes a couple of days isn’t enough––a week is definitely better. Before I know it, the assignment is due in a couple of hours and I have no choice but to crank out a six-page paper. Is it good? No. Are there any correctly spelled words? Definitely not. Was watching “Fantastic Mr. Fox” twice in one day worth it? Absolutely.
Sometimes I wish that this process was not a part of my everyday life. But I’m not gonna lie. I have a TON of free time. So here I am, finishing a Misc article at 9:36 p.m. when I had all day to write it. What can I say? I got distracted.
But, no matter what anyone might tell you, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Procrastinating takes time, it takes effort and most of all it takes guts.