The beginning of a new school year is upon us. That means new classes, new notebooks, new planners, and new goals. One of my main goals each year is to stop procrastinating. My best friend and I swear each year that we will not procrastinate. We will hold each other accountable. We will make plans and get everything done ahead of time... which never happens.
I get my syllabus at the beginning of each semester with the dates for each assignment and put them in a planner. I get pens and pencils and all kinds of things that give the illusion of having my life together. It always starts with the best of intentions. It works in the beginning. My resolution always works in the beginning. Then, it all goes downhill from there.
I sit down to start on the paper and see that the floor needs to be vacuumed. Since I already have the vacuum, I might as well go ahead and vacuum the whole apartment. I think it's just being considerate to my roommates. Cleaning isn't so bad when it's procasti-cleaning.
After I've cleaned everything in the house, I sit back down to work on my paper. I decide to catch up on "Grey's Anatomy" or binge-watch episode's I've already seen a million times, but if I'm writing a medical paper, doesn't it count as research? I'll just put it on in the background. Then, I end up watching it instead of doing the paper.
Next thing I know, it's midnight the night before the paper is due and I have exactly half a page done, if that. In sets the panic, so I plop down at my desk in preparation for a long night, and I know that once again, I find myself screwed. I get the paper done some time around 3 AM and don't even look at it again.
The next morning I wake up and rush to the library to print the paper and find out that most of it is not even English, but after a few alterations, it's legible enough to turn in. Running to class, I slide into my seat just in time to turn in my paper. Once it's out of my hands, a sense of relief washes over me, and I can finally breathe.
Thus, the cycle begins all over again the next time an assignment is due and then again the next time that the semester starts. But it never fails, I will always promise myself that I will do better next year. I will follow my planner, I will get all assignments done ahead of time, I will go to the gym, I will have my life together. It's a nice thought, but all procrastinators know that it won't happen because procrastination is not just a trait, it's a way of life.