For as long as I can remember, I've put off my work until the last minute. As a result, I've spent many a late night/early morning writing papers or reading an entire chapter in a textbook that I put off all week. But even in these extreme instances, my quality is not sacrificed as a result. This is because I truly believe that I do better under pressure.
First, let me explain why it is that I so often find myself procrastinating. I don't put my work off because I crave sleep deprivation, nor do I particularly enjoy the sense of impending doom at 2 A.M. when I still haven't finished an essay.
Rather, what keeps me procrastinating is the the constant reality that something else is simply more important. I can't justify setting aside time to work on an assignment due Friday when I still have about 729 things to do before the end of the week. Only when I can no longer afford to put it off any longer is when I finally sit down to get to work on any particular task.
I often find myself wondering why did I do this to myself? why didn't I just start earlier? Although I repeatedly end up hating myself for the few hours spent feverishly trying to pull it together, my procrastination tendencies can not and will not waver.
Even with all the stress that comes with being a PROcrastinator, I somehow always manage to get my work done- and I do it well. I have always been taught to do all my work, and I could not ever just not do something. Even when it's late at night and I fear I will not finish, I think about the fact that the very next day, all of this--the assignment, the struggling, etc.--will be behind me. And then I just do it.
Don't get me wrong, procrastination is not for everyone. I know people that can truly work a little bit on a paper every day, or even complete assignments before the night they are due (a concept I am just not familiar with). Whatever works. Maybe someday, I will try one of these ~alternative~ methods out. But until the time comes that I'm unable to pull together a 10-page paper requiring 15 citations in a single day (yes, I have done that before), you can catch me procrastinating until the last possible moment.
