Is This What I Should Be Doing?—The Causes and Effects of Procrastination
[an unedited paper I wrote as a freshman in college]
[the night before it was due]
Procrastination is a disease that is killing college students. Procrastination, in a dumbed-down denotation, means “putting things off until the last second,” unless you are me, and you put things off even after the last second. From writing essays, to taking out the trash, procrastination can occur in any situation. This disease is subject to all races and all ages, no matter how intelligent or how stupid, procrastination holds no prejudices. You cannot catch this disease from kissing, or sharing a soda with a buddy, but there are many different causes of it. I, myself, am one of these helpless procrastination victims, and I will use my experiences, to explain the causes and effects of this deadly disease.
Friends definitely put you in deep risk for procrastination. If you are dreading the long, boring, hot, itchy chore of mowing your lawn, and you have nothing else you should be doing in this extra free time, there is no better escape than receiving a text message on your cell phone from a friend, reading “Hey! Wanna hang out?” Now doesn’t spending time with a good friend sound a lot better than slaving over a hot lawn for an hour and a half? Of course it does! But in actually, you can hang out with your buddy any other time, maybe even tomorrow, but its suppose to rain the rest of the week, and the lawn should really be mowed now. But the person suffering from procrastination will always be looking for that escape, sort of a “quick fix,” that maybe a junkie could relate to. A procrastinator is always searching for a more enjoyable, relaxing activity to be doing, rather than the one that should be completed now.
So of course the procrastinator will go hang out with his friend, and put off the lawn mowing, until he has some extra-extra free time. But before he knows it, he’s having to cross the Amazon rain forest, with machete in hand, to get to his front door. Now he is left feeling down and guilty, now that the “quick fix” of procrastination has wore off. Now he is upset and his head is now lowered, along with the image of the house and the neighboring houses in the cul de sac that he and his parents live in.
Almost everyone has a hobby that they enjoy doing. Hobbies are fun activities that make us happy and comfortable and occupy our spare time. But it is commonly unknown, that hobbies can cause mild cases of procrastination. I mean, wouldn’t you rather do something you like to do, rather than something that takes time and is not fun? Of course! A hobby can be anything you enjoy doing, may it be skateboarding, model building, knitting, or watching re-runs of Seinfeld. Lets take knitting for example. Let’s say the dishes in the sink are really piling up, and you are running out of clean plates to eat off of, but that blue sock that you have almost finished knitting is patiently sitting in the corner. What you should do is clean the dishes thoroughly and place them in a proper place to dry, and if there is spare time in your daily schedule, you may knit the rest of that blue sock, which you enjoy doing so much. But the person with procrastination disease will say “I’ll finish the sock, then do the dishes.” But soon, after feeling the intense high of being comfortable and having fun, the procrastinator will say “Well, I should probably do another sock, so I’ll have a pair.” And so she’ll knit another. And before she knows it, its 11:30 PM and way past her bedtime. “I’ll do the dishes tomorrow.”
Of course, we all know that procrastination is not actually a disease, but those who do succumb to it will tell you, it comes pretty damn close. People who procrastinate are not bad people, and they are not even really lazy (well, maybe a little). To sum all the causes up, procrastination is brought on by a poorly arranged list of priorities. Those who procrastinate often will usually put the things they should be doing at the bottom of the list, and place things they’d rather be doing at the top. A sort of “Feel Good Now, Feel Bad Later” policy is what these people stand by. A skewed list of priorities is what it all comes down to.
But procrastination is not just some harmless disorder, it can really have some damaging effects. Procrastination is like non-tangible heroin; It will make you feel really good now, but later it will leave you feeling even worse, possible regretting what you have done and looking for another way out. A bad case of procrastination can effect in more ways than one. It can effect your whole life, not just in school and work.
Your appearance can be effected by procrastination. Cooking your own food takes a lot of time, effort, and patience, three things that all have bad connotations. So a procrastinator may rely on quick fixes, such as fast food, or potato chips, anything that is quick and easy. Working out and exercising also takes a good bit of time and work, and is definitely not something a “procrastie” would rather be doing. Well, sooner or later, due to putting off the good food and working out, procrastination has made you fat!
Shaving also takes time and patience, so that you don’t cut your delicate face with the blade in the razor. But it’s a task the a procrastinator would rather do tomorrow, or the day after, or sometime after that. Before you know it, you are not an unshaven, fat slob. All because you’d rather watch the Simpsons and eat McDonalds, than go to Maximus and fix yourself a salad.
Procrastination can also destroy relationships. If you are a male procrastinator with a girlfriend, you might find your self in a heap of trouble around Valentine’s Day. On February 5th you had a perfect opportunity to go buy her a card, but a couple of “the guys” were at the bowling alley throwing rocks, which sounded like so much fun, so you decided to put off getting a card ‘til another day. Before too long, its February 15th and all you have is a fake rose duct taped to a pen. Now you’ve lost your girlfriend. You were a fat, hairy slob anyways.
The boss wants you to read a 400-page book about “risk management,” and write a report about it and have it on his desk by Friday. Its Tuesday. “Well, I’ll read some of it after Jeopardy is over.”
“I’ll read some after American Idol.”
“After I come back from the store, I will definitely open that book.”
“Once I finish this beer, I’ll knock that first chapter out.”
“This is the last cigarette, then it’s time to read.”
“Well, I’m getting pretty tired. I get it read tomorrow.”
Its Friday and you’ve read only 3 pages. You have now lost your job at the office. You are now an unemployed, fat, hairy slob with no girlfriend.
As exhibited, procrastination can affect your life in numerous ways. It can spoil your diet, cause you to be obese, and in the long run may even cause your death. It can break-up relationships, piss off your friends, and disappoint your parents. It can get you fired from work, fail your classes, and kicked out of school. Procrastination is no longer just “putting things off,” but is now a life-threatening disorder. Procrastinators, like myself, must realize that it is not better to wait. Do not take the easy way out, and do what you need to do NOW. No one is going to do it for you, and its not going to get better later. If you feel you are falling trap to the binding jaws of procrastination, stop and ask yourself, “Is this what I should be doing? Or is this what I’d rather be doing.”
Plant a seed. Don’t dig a hole.
