Procrastination

Procrastination, the fine art of putting-off or avoiding a certain task, is one skill many Americans master before they ever reach high school. I’m no exception. Procrastination shapes my daily life be it in the form of increased stress, jeopardized grades, or escapism. I am a full-blown procrastinator.

The main stress in my life happens to be obligation and in true procrastinator form I put off or purposefully forget about such obligation. As a minor I do enjoy a great amount of freedom, not having to work or have any financial obligation, but I still have an obligation to my parents, friends, and school. My parents don’t require much of me and the only problem I have with them is when I chronically don’t do my chores or I forget to call them when I’ll be late coming home, my friends are another matter. I constantly feel that I don’t devote enough time to them, I have periods where I withdrawal from all aspects of my life to devote myself unconditionally to something (usually some sort of project or book). That lack of attention to them is a main stressor in my life, however, when I do devote the time I feel they deserve I end up slacking in other obligations. It is a no-win situation. It is the same situation with school.

School work and grades are a main factor in my procrastination, but they also show the effects of it beautifully. From the time I was a Freshmen I have had a problem with procrastination reflecting on my grades. Late work was no longer given full-credit and mastery classes are the reason I have one glaring NC on my transcript. The one NC was due to an essay not turned into entry writing because I kept putting it off. Since then I have learned better, but I probably would be able to easily maintain a 3.8 GPA instead of struggling for my sad 3.5 if I fixed my chronic procrastination problem.

When I am avoiding doing one thing such as a essay or calculus assignment I avoid all things associated with that i.e., avoiding a calculus assignment will result in me avoiding all aspects of school life. I often spend my time on the Internet, the perfect tool for the escapist, or with associated things. The week I got my home page I spent over 50 hours on it while still attending school, but failing to keep up with commitments to friend, family, and assignments. Last week I spent all my time reading this digital novel called Oklahoma and doing distribution for this cyber thriller while putting off doing my career plan, daily assignments, and an essay.

Usually I won’t spend all my time in such a zealous fashion, but while procrastinating I almost always throw myself headlong into a project that steals my time from all other obligations. I find this to be one of the most fascinating aspects of my character and the one trait that constantly leads me to new discoveries. I would never have discovered how to make a web page, fan fiction, or e-zines if I wasn’t avoiding something.

I have chronic procrastination syndrome. A disease responsible for my sometimes zealous character, sever stress, strained relationships, and poor school work, but it is also responsible for many of the achievements I have made and discovers I have come upon. Without this trait I feel that my personality would be seriously compromised, therefore, I won’t try to change this bad habit.