My Struggle with Procrastination (and methods that helped)
It’s a miracle anyone even gets to read this essay, considering how much I procrastinated when writing it. Procrastination is a daily struggle for me, impacting many parts of my life. As I try to start my projects, it feels as though I am weighed down, my brain unable to think, and my fingers unable to move. I long for an easier obligation, a shorter task, or an instantly rewarding distraction. I lull myself into a false sense of responsibility, after all, I have a week left for this project. Yet too soon, that week becomes a day, and all I have to show for my time are a few meaningless words. Yet in the past, I have always managed to complete my assignments, so why should I try anything new? This conflict between what I know is responsible and what I feel is reasonable is constant, affecting nearly every decision I make.
The motivation is clear: Why spend hours struggling to get past a mental block when distraction is there, ready to take away my guilt and turn it into short lived entertainment? After all, I’m doing alright in school, so I can afford a little distraction. Despite knowing what the outcome will be, I find it too easy to brush tasks aside. Even when I decide to begin working, procrastination can play a role. Just a sentence written is excuse enough to push aside the obligation in exchange to look up something which won’t matter to me in 5 minutes. I feel that this quote from The Screwtape Letters exemplifies this pattern well. “He may say, as one of my own patients said on his arrival down here, ‘I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked’” (Lewis 12). This quote describes how the demon Screwtape caused a man to live a life of apathy. He distracted the man from both the tasks at hand while also not allowing him to enjoy his life. I interpret this as the man feeling too guilty about his distractions to enjoy what he would rather be doing. This is something that I can identify with, as I often feel the same way. I would rather be programming or playing a game, but instead I just endlessly scroll. This causes me to regret the time wasted more than if I had chosen to do what I actually wanted.
While it has not yet afflicted my school performance, I believe this pattern of procrastination is harmful. While putting off tasks in the moment relieves a bit of stress, it is only temporary. As the pile of tasks waiting for completion grows ever higher, it becomes even more difficult to begin one. This cycle continues until the night everything is due, leaving me with hardly any time. Despite these challenges, there are some things that have worked for me. For example, instead of focusing on the task as a whole, break it down into smaller parts you can complete in 15 minutes or so (such as finding a source, or creating the outline of a paragraph). Another method that can help is to create deadlines for these small tasks. This makes every task manageable, and keeps the project on track for timely completion. Finally, and maybe the best way to avoid procrastination, is peer accountability. If you are the one who can’t hop on the game because you didn’t finish your math, your friends might be disappointed in you. If another person is depending on the completion of a task, not letting them down can be a motivator.
While procrastination is a real struggle for me, using these methods to make it more manageable has helped, and I have an easier time completing tasks efficiently.
Works Cited
What is up King Andrew!! As soon as I opened this essay (and before reading just to be clear) I noticed that you have a works cited page, to me that's just very interesting as I feel like these blogs are more personal than informative, but knowing you, you'll end up doing a pretty great blend of both! Anyways, actually getting into reading I must say that I really vibe with your title, as it (an)drew (see what I did there... yeah anyways) me into the essay, because I want to solve my own procrastination issues as well. Your first sentence also works really well as a hook. My only real notes are that the essay does sound a little formal, which I guess is also your writing style, so you may want to remind yourself to relax a bit while writing. Also I was confused how your source was brought into this essay, as you don't ever really explain HOW or WHY you were looking at the source. Was it curiosity? Was it to help get over your procrastination starting the research? I guess that this info isn't as important to the essay, but it could show off more of your personality.
ReplyDelete-Ana Artz
Whenever you use a quote in MLA you are supposed to cite a source, and this essay's perspective was heavily influenced by this quote. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteHi Andrew, reading your blog felt as though you cracked open the head of every highschooler and slapped what was inside onto paper. Your introduction especially hooked me into your essay while also setting the tone of what you would be talking about and how. Your essay does a good job of bringing attention to the problem at hand (procrastination) while also acknowledging what it was that brought on that problem in the first place. The only thing I would suggest adding would maybe be the reasoning why you started implementing ways to combat your procrastination. Did you turn something in closer to the deadline than usual? Did a friend give you advice when you were venting? Or did you just decide one day that procrastination would not control you anymore? I feel like having a set experience that you could profit off of would really give your essay an extra punchy to it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree that the reasoning was a little unclear. Primarily it was because I felt guilty about missing out on certain activities because I was stuck in my room trying to do a project, yet procrastinated anyway.
DeleteHi Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI was pulled into this essay from the first sentence because I could relate to it very much for my own essay. I also wanted to give you claps for making sure to cite the book you quoted in your essay👏👏. I think procrastination in general is a very relatable topic for practically anyone at this age, but I thought your mentioning of continuing to do it even when knowing it's wrong (because of the lack of failing from it) and how it prevents you from "hopping on the game" made it even more relatable to me. I think something you could add is how you've succeeded from using these anti-procrastination methods to really sell it to the readers.
Overall, another great blog by the king! Thank you for blessing us with these techniques.
Thanks for the feedback Yutastic!
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