October 16, 2014
I procrastinate. I always have. But I vow, here, on the pages of this venerable (slight sarcasm intended) publication, to never do it again.
I realize now that what I’ve been doing, what we call procrastination, is just laziness and a lack of discipline. And we call it procrastination, I don’t know, maybe because it sounds like some sort of dire medical condition that we can’t control–a sort of working excuse for not doing our work.
How has procrastination affected me? I hate to toot my own horn (and use that cliche), but I’m a smart guy. Nothing insane, just garden variety basic intelligence. I might have even gone far in the world had I not been such a procrastinator. But years of overconfidence and working well under tight deadlines have made me believe I can push things to the last minute and still somehow succeed.
This isn’t true. I get mediocre grades. I have no work ethic. I neglect basic assignments, and the end product is I’m going to get into a second- or third- tier college and have to do a hell of a lot more work to get where I want to go than I would if I’d just put in an ounce of decent work in the first place.
But I didn’t. I put it off. I have truly screwed myself over here.
So, fine reader, what do you do after hearing my story? Heed my warning here: stop making excuses. Stop distracting yourself from things you need to do. Remind yourself that small mistakes can and will have a negative impact on your life. Understand your priorities, and for the love of God, stop procrastinating.
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