Ehhhh

Procrastination is the act of leaving important work for the last minute, and always forgetting that it’s not a good idea. People all like to say that they are responsible and dedicated, but this doesn’t exempt them from procrastination. As far as I’m concerned, procrastinating is the one act no one in the world can escape. Whether it is leaving a homework assignment undone until the late hours of the night or refusing to call your mother until long after a fight under the delusion that she may have calmed down before the call, we have all procrastinated. The issue is not that we are unaware of the repercussions of such an act; it is that we conveniently forget them in the name of laziness or fear. We all know doing the homework very late at night is going to be annoying at the very least, just as we all know the time she is kept waiting is exactly equivalent to our mother’s built up rage when we finally do call her; does this make us stop procrastinating? Not even close. According to the article Why do we Procrastinate so Much? in the BBC Viewpoint, Hamlet is one of the most accomplished procrastinators in fiction, pushing off his uncle’s murder until a rapier was practically shoved in his hand.  Still, the author indicated that Hamlet’s trials and tribulations would have been even more wildly put off in the world we live in today, seeing as “he’d have to tweet his fears and try them out on facebook friends.” It is true that Hamlet pushed his actions until he had no choice but to pull through with it, if that had not happened however, there would be no story, and ultimately, that is what matters most. Should we stop procrastinating and turn ourselves into robotic, scheduled beings? Not really.

In the article, the author states that every human being has surely felt the “horror of crippling indecision and compulsive delaying tactics.” This is the author’s way to describe the effects of procrastination, and to a certain extent, it is impossible to disagree. The effects of leaving work undone until the last minute can vary, but usually find themselves somewhere within the spectrum form mildly stressful to absolutely horrifying. This however, does not necessarily have to be the case. I am a firm believer in the value of procrastination, and frankly think that procrastination is valid depending on what you do whilst engaging in it. I for one, am an avid procrastinator. I read when I should be taking notes for biology, I write when I should be studying for a test, and then I read some more before I even consider opening my backpack to grab the necessary note books. Unlike the author of this article, I feel that there is nothing wrong with this merciless habit as long as the consequences are taken in stride. Sure, I sleep a lot less than I should, but I also get more out of a day than most people do.

The author of the article stresses two specific strategies to stop procrastination. The first one is to separate a big task into small steps and then get through it methodically, the second is to “give a trusted friend £50 and tell them that if you don't complete the task you have undertaken they can give it away to a political party or cause you hate.” The first strategy is understandable, and it may even work for big projects which would be impossible to achieve in one day. The second one I am more sceptical about. First of all, that strategy is assuming that I have that amount of money to give a trusted friend. I had to ask my parents for money to buy a water bottle just a few minutes ago, so that’s the first flaw in the plan right there. The second flaw lies in the fact that I have the fortune to have the type of friends that would just keep the money for themselves, thus defeating the whole purpose of the scenario. Over all I just don’t think that these strategies are viable because humanity is prone to procrastination, I agree with Piers Steel when he states that “humankind is hardwired to procrastinate."

The author of the article makes it very clear that a change must be made in our procrastinating ways, but I think otherwise. I think if procrastinating helps you unwind and spend time doing what you really want to do you should go on right ahead and do it. “So, if the question is, "To procrastinate, or not to procrastinate?" my answer is” eh… I’ll think about it later.