"Oh! My paper is due in two months. Maybe if I start it early then I won't have to think about it." One week goes by..."Maybe I will wait until next week..." Another week goes by..."I still have a lot of time to write it! Maybe if I start next week, I can put my best effort into it." Three more weeks pass. "Oh man...I've just been too busy. I will write it next week. Besides, I have a fun party to go to!" Next week I find that I am booked up with more schoolwork and hanging out with friends. The day before the paper is due, I finally start working on it. Now there is heightened stress of how to finish it on time. I pull an all-nighter just to finish it and, unfortunately, the paper isn't done to the best of my ability.
Procrastination, we all do it! We make excuses and put off important projects or daily chores until the last minute. Some of us never complete tasks that need to be finished. In fact, this article was finished two hours before it was supposed to be turned in. Procrastination is a serious problem for a majority of people. The question is, is there anything good about procrastination? Or is procrastination all bad? In this article, I will talk about the pros and cons of procrastination. Maybe it will help with organization in your daily life.
Cons
It would only be fitting to start out with the cons because that is what everyone sees procrastination as: a con.
- Stress is a huge con of procrastination. Right when some realize they have something to do, all they do is think about that task until it is finished. Others may forget about it and then realize that they need to complete a task last minute. No matter what type of person you are, the procrastination of a task will give you stress at one point.
- Another con is not doing the task to your full ability. Because the task was done at the last minute, it may be done sloppily and not done to your fullest potential. Giving oneself a greater amount of time, one can be better and use their best effort.
- Anxiety is another con. I know that stress is similar to anxiety, but some people constantly worry about having to do a project but make excuses to not do it until the last minute. Although they got the project done, they are mentally exhausted. They wasted so much energy on thinking about doing it instead of actually doing it.
- Disorganization is a major con of procrastination. When a person constantly procrastinates assignments, chores, and projects, they eventually have a huge pile of work to do and don't have enough time to finish everything.
Pros
Believe it or not, there are pros to procrastination!
- Being under pressure can be a good thing for some people that need to do a huge project. For some, if they wait until the last minute, if helps motivate them to do well. Working under pressure can help them succeed! However, this does not apply to everyone.
- Another pro to procrastination is that it might not be necessary to do work until the day before it is due. Maybe worrying about it is more of a hassle because the work will eventually get done. Some people don't need to do projects early to feel better that it is done.
Maybe there is a happy-medium of procrastination and finishing a project. I think everybody varies in how they need to prioritize their work, but looking at the pros and cons should help make organization happen!
For the most part, it is best to get things that need to be done on time. So as in the words of Shia LaBeouf: "JUST DO IT!"
