I sit down at my computer, crack my knuckles and take a quick look at the clock. “2 a.m.,” I think. “I guess I can make this work.”
And almost always, I can make it work. In fact, a lot of people seem to be able to make procrastination work.
It seems counterintuitive to put work off until the very last possible minute, and often it might even be impossible.
However, according to an article in Psychology Today, procrastinating can help you understand what tasks are actually most important to you and which you really would just rather not finish.
The article also notes that procrastination can help you clear out unnecessary activities and duties. This makes sense —if you procrastinate on, say, mopping your kitchen floor, you open up more time to focus on necessary tasks, and you’ll quickly realize that maybe putting off cleaning the kitchen wasn’t the worst thing.
Besides, some people just operate better on tight deadlines. Ask almost any of the students working down in The BV newsroom how they prefer to do work and they’ll tell you they need to do it on a strict deadline.
An approaching deadline, while often dreadful, helps you streamline your thoughts and reassess what absolutely needs to be said (especially when it comes to writing papers).
Sometimes, people will say not to procrastinate so you can allow yourself time finish what absolutely needs to be done. I would argue that you can have that “time to yourself” before you write the paper, mop the floor or do the dishes. If you think positively and think that you can complete the necessary task before it needs to be done, then you can also enjoy yourself before you start sitting down to work.
Of course, there are times where you absolutely can’t procrastinate. If you know you’re terrible at math, you should probably not procrastinate on your math homework. You want to be able to grasp the information quickly (and well). Or if your toilet is clogged — you should probably get on that. Don’t wait.
The key here, then, is balance. Balance out what needs to be done versus what can be done later.
If it’s 3:30 on a sunny, warm Tuesday afternoon and you have a three-page paper due at midnight, go ahead and take a quick walk or get ice cream with your friends. Putting off that paper for an hour or so really isn’t going to ruin your life.
Procrastinating isn’t ideal — how could it be? If I had it in me to get all my work done days and days in advance, I would probably think a little bit higher of my work ethic.
But ultimately, I enjoy spending my time my way — and if my way means waiting until 10 to write a paper due at midnight — well, I guess I’ll just keep furiously typing and wiping my nervous brow.
Diana McElfresh is the
Editor-in-chief for
The Bona Venture.
Her email is
mcelfrdh14@bonaventure.edu
