Procrastination is anart form. It takes time to master, and skill to perfect. But let's be honest, if you're a procrastinator, you don't want to put time or effort into mastering a skill when you could just wing it last minute and get close enough.

So in an effort to encourage you toprocrastinateto the best of your ability here are some tips and tricks on the best ways to not only get away with completing your work last minute, but to do it well!

Know your limits!

The first step to procrastinatingsuccessfullyis to know yourself and your capabilities. You will need to understandobjectivelywhat you can and cannot do, and how long it will take you to get it done. The key to last minute work being successful is knowing if you really can pull it off, or if it's time to start damage control and lower your standards.

Check your assignments ahead of time!

Don't panic, I'm not saying you have to actually DO the work when it's assigned. However, it's vital that you understand the assignment in order to reach full procrastination potential. If you have read the instructions and are familiar with the assignment, then you understand what is necessary to complete the assignment. Once you know the end goal and you know your limitations you candecide how to proceed Ex. I know I can write roughly 500 words in 45 minutes. So if my odyssey article is due at 12:00 I will have plenty of time if I start typing at 8:00.

Understand the consequences!

If you want to play this game you need to be prepared to lose. Procrastination is a bit of a gamble, it pays off in that you have more time to yourself and a significant portion of the time you can still achieve a wonderfulproduct. Butthere is always a risk that you misjudged your abilities, misunderstood the requirements, orunforeseencircumstances arose and you may not be able to finish the assignment on time, or it may not be up to your usual standard.

Know when you can't procrastinate!

Sometimes it's unavoidable, not everything can be procrastinated. Sadly, you cannot write the 15-page research paper for your psychology class the night beforeit's due.

For some of you, procrastination is an involuntary orsubconscious action. But for others, like myself,procrastination is an active process that involves calculations and forethought. Properprocrastinationneeds planning to ensure that you procrastinate in a way that is bothefficient(giving you the most spare time possible to watchNetflixand eatCheetos) and effective (becauseno one wants to fail).

Whether you are trying to avoid procrastinating but find its areoccurringtheme in your life, or embrace the glories of procrastination as the wonderful (and practical) art form that it is I hope that these four tips will help you in your future career as a college student, professional, or just in general as an adult human being.