PROCRASTINATION LEO O’D, The school is in the grip of a vile plague; its name is Procrastination, and it’s catching. Put it off, put it down, put it out of mind, hide it away, hide away from it, or simply delay, delay, delay until you are late and remind yourself to do better next time. Rinse and repeat. A sad, inescapable truth is that tasks do not perform themselves. Another regrettable fact: the editor of this issue received this article at 9:30PM on the day it was due, a number I was initially quite proud of.
This is the inescapable dilemma that a truly committed procrastinator creates for themselves.But where can I find these lucky few that don’t procrastinate? Do they exist? Do I have to find them right now? I’ll do that later. Until then, I’ll find my fellow sufferers. An unnamed year 12 student described the habit as “pretty ruinous, to be honest”; another simply replied “nah, later,” when asked for a quote. Finally, I approached those who I thought would be beyond procrastinating, but it transpired that they too were susceptible to the habit’s wiles. It seems as though this affliction has the entire student population firmly in its grasp.
By now it’s become clear to me that my time management skills are well-adapted- nay, dedicated- to overcoming the obstacles that my habit of avoiding, rather than confronting, an issue creates. Yet still, I haven’t learned. I recognise procrastination in myself and others, and I put off doing anything about it.
But why? Esteemed behavioural psychology journal www.njlifehacks.com claims that “procrastination is 31
