Hi. My name is Madeline, and I am a procrastinator. Yes, a procrastinator.

I wait until the last possible second to do things that I really should have done a long, long time ago.

I am putting off packing right now by writing this and was previously putting off writing this by packing. I have yet to realize that there are going to be times when I do not feel like doing something, but still have to do it. Some people say that I resemble a 6-year-old sometimes, and in this respect, I will most certainly agree. I do not do things that I do not want to do. I still choose to wait until I finally want to or feel motivated. You would think that after about eighteen years filled with procrastination, I would have learned by now, but I haven’t. Procrastination is still one of my best friends. It is like that one friend who gets you into trouble all the time, the one who’s a really bad influence, yet you still hang out with them.

It’s a problem. It’s an addiction. It’s my guilty pleasure.

I strongly believe that procrastination and laziness are interchangeable words. I always neglect all my responsibilities (i.e. studying, packing, cleaning, running errands, etc.) and instead often choose to open up Netflix on my stupid computer. Now, it is not my stupid computer’s fault, but I will choose to blame it anyways. I would also like to blame Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, even my email when I’m really desperate. Even after I check every single app on my phone five times each to where there is nothing more I can search or discover, I still find myself refusing to get stuff done! I can literally sit and stare at a wall for an hour.

Sometimes being lazy is good. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from a busy schedule and breathe for a couple of seconds. However, these breaks should be fairly limited. It should be maybe a couple times a week, not every single minute of every single day of the week.

The first step for getting through problems as such is to admit that there is a problem to begin with. I am fully and completely admitting that I have a problem. The bigger struggle is finding a solution. Thanks to Google, beloved Google, I have found some tips that might help me and those who find themselves in a similar situation as me. I am going to share these lovely tips. Don’t be like me. If you find yourself frolicking down the path of procrastination, turn around!

The first piece of advice that came up is to take large tasks and split it up into smaller pieces. Sometimes procrastination is a bigger temptation when there is a bigger task to overcome. Instead of aiming to finish an entire study guide or an entire paper, just set smaller goals like answering five questions or writing an introduction paragraph. That should reduce this desire to dawdle. Finding a different environment, listening to a certain genre of music to focus, and getting a study buddy can also help increase productivity.

The biggest thing to do, however, is to put on your big girl or boy pants and just do it. Not everything in life is going to be easy and enjoyable, especially with school. Learning how to just do it anyways will help later in life when getting a job, or when encountering other big life events.