Procrastination By: Sujal Mirchandani

 Procrastination

By: Sujal Mirchandani

If there is one thing almost every high school student has in common, it is procrastination. We have all said, “I’ll do it later,” only to realize that the assignment is due tomorrow and we have barely started. Teachers often describe procrastination as laziness, but I do not completely agree.

Sometimes I procrastinate because I simply do not want to do the assignment. But other times, it is because I feel overwhelmed. When you have homework from several classes, a test to study for, extracurricular activities, and other responsibilities, it can be difficult to know where to start. Putting everything off can almost feel easier than dealing with all of it at once.

I think another reason students procrastinate is because we expect ourselves to do everything perfectly. If I am worried that I will not do an assignment well, starting it can feel intimidating. Instead of risking doing something badly, I might convince myself that I will do it later when I have more time and motivation.

I have learned that procrastination does not necessarily mean someone does not care. Sometimes it means they are struggling to get started. Even knowing that, I still procrastinate sometimes. The difference is that I am trying to recognize when I am doing it and break the assignment into smaller pieces.

I do not think students need another lecture about how procrastination is bad. We already know. What we need is to understand why we are doing it. At the end of the day, procrastination is something I probably will never completely eliminate because I don’t think it's as big of an issue that teachers and adults make it to be. If I know that I am keeping things for the last minute but I am still able to complete them before the due date I don’t have a problem. For me, procrastination is only a problem when I am not able to fulfill a task in time because I was too lazy to start.