Spring Break
Some procrastinating lasts long after Twilight
Admitting to your procrastination is only the first step: a guide to the causes and the cures for this terrible student affliction
Issue date: 12/4/08
Why? Because my new obsession simply prohibits me from doing anything else, much less working.
I'm not the only person who struggles with procrastination. One in every one teenager suffers from this affliction, albeit in varying degrees.
Procrastination can result from a number of circumstances; boredom with material, dissatisfaction with a class or oneself, apathy, rebellion, undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder and Facebook stalking are just a few common catalysts.
If you've got the procrastination gene, it doesn't matter how studious you are - one minor slip in self-control can set you back days in your work.
There are two main kinds of procrastinators: the tortoises and the hares. The hares are usually well practiced in the art of denial, stating that they need to wait until the last minute, that it's the adrenaline rush that allows them to do their best work.
The tortoises, on the other hand, embrace their procrastination as an inevitable part of their process, building in enough time for them to procrastinate and do their work simultaneously.
Whereas the hares can typically bang out a six-page paper in three hours, the tortoises will give themselves nine hours to type the same exact paper, leaving time for e-mail checking, IMing and staring out the window.
So how to combat this devil in our midst? We all know that the only thing more challenging than the D-Level challenge is actually doing work in that dungeon.
What is there to be done when anything seems better than what you actually have to do? Here's what I've got for you: motivation follows action. You just have to bite the bullet and start doing the work.
Often times, just beginning the work will lift some of pressure that seems to restrict productivity - you must persevere past this point for it is all too easy to stop there, look around and say, "Hey I've got this under control," and thus loop back into your procrastination denial.
You must keep going even after you think you're in the clear. Half an hour of solid work usually gets you out of the beginner's luck trap and on to the rest of your task.
Another trick I've found useful when I really can't focus is to do work in the presence of a friend.
Just having someone else in the room somehow makes me feel less compelled to goof off. Yes, I thrive on shame, but at least I thrive.
Everybody has their vices. The trick to productivity is knowing yours and recognizing when they're getting the better of you.
Everybody has their limits and even if you know you can get that paper done at the last minute, somehow it almost always ends up feeling like Russian Roulette.
So give your nerves a break and leave the all-nighters to the vampires.
I'm not the only person who struggles with procrastination. One in every one teenager suffers from this affliction, albeit in varying degrees.
Procrastination can result from a number of circumstances; boredom with material, dissatisfaction with a class or oneself, apathy, rebellion, undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder and Facebook stalking are just a few common catalysts.
If you've got the procrastination gene, it doesn't matter how studious you are - one minor slip in self-control can set you back days in your work.
There are two main kinds of procrastinators: the tortoises and the hares. The hares are usually well practiced in the art of denial, stating that they need to wait until the last minute, that it's the adrenaline rush that allows them to do their best work.
The tortoises, on the other hand, embrace their procrastination as an inevitable part of their process, building in enough time for them to procrastinate and do their work simultaneously.
Whereas the hares can typically bang out a six-page paper in three hours, the tortoises will give themselves nine hours to type the same exact paper, leaving time for e-mail checking, IMing and staring out the window.
So how to combat this devil in our midst? We all know that the only thing more challenging than the D-Level challenge is actually doing work in that dungeon.
What is there to be done when anything seems better than what you actually have to do? Here's what I've got for you: motivation follows action. You just have to bite the bullet and start doing the work.
Often times, just beginning the work will lift some of pressure that seems to restrict productivity - you must persevere past this point for it is all too easy to stop there, look around and say, "Hey I've got this under control," and thus loop back into your procrastination denial.
You must keep going even after you think you're in the clear. Half an hour of solid work usually gets you out of the beginner's luck trap and on to the rest of your task.
Another trick I've found useful when I really can't focus is to do work in the presence of a friend.
Just having someone else in the room somehow makes me feel less compelled to goof off. Yes, I thrive on shame, but at least I thrive.
Everybody has their vices. The trick to productivity is knowing yours and recognizing when they're getting the better of you.
Everybody has their limits and even if you know you can get that paper done at the last minute, somehow it almost always ends up feeling like Russian Roulette.
So give your nerves a break and leave the all-nighters to the vampires.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Twilight Fan w/ NOPS
posted 12/05/08 @ 11:50 PM EST
Thanks, Emma. I am sending this to myself to read everytime I am suffering from N.O.P.S., which seems to occur often now that I have read Twilight. I only have to disagree with your assumption that this can afflict only teenagers. (Continued…)
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