Procrastination
...d less inclined to do the work required. I began putting the homework off until the day before it was due, and soon began doing this for every other class I had. I sunk deeper and deeper into the chasm of procrastination all the way through high school. I soon realized, however, that my unhealthy habit no longer worried me. Even though I would put projects off until the last day, I always ended up doing well on them. After a couple minutes of intense contemplation, I have discovered several reasons why delaying the inevitable has bettered my academic life. The word “panic” is defined by Merriam Webster as “a sudden overpowering fright.” This simple noun sums up my work habits and is the primary reason why I do well on the majority of my projects and essays. Without panic, I am inefficient; I work slowly, second guess myself, become distracted, and end up lacking the unity and cohesiveness that is necessary for an excellent final product. By utilizing my unavoidable last-minute panic correctly, however, I can quickly and easily come up with a piece of work that is as close to perfect as I would ever have gotten it. The panic that comes with procrastination is the only fuel that I need the night before a due date, but to take full advantage of the panic that sets in a person must possess a few vital characteristics. In order to be a successful procrastinator, there are several qualities that one must hold. One of the most prominent of these characteristics is the ability to think quickly. Like all newspaper writers that are forced to write their articles in a short amount of time, correct them, and turn them in just a few hours later, good procrastination requires rapidly generated ideas. These ideas cannot be confusing or ambiguous, and must stay close to the topic. The second quality that a good last-minute writer must have is determination. John Perry of Stanford University says that “Procrastinators often follow exactly the wrong tack. They try to minimize their commitments, assuming that if they have only a few things to do, they will quit procrastinating and get them done.” This excerpt from his essay entitled “Structured Procrastination” is the epitome of a poor last-minute writer. The majority of procrastinators are so convinced that they need to get their work done quickly that they end up doing a slipshod job. Unfortunately, they are only hurting themselves when doing this. A professional procrastinator knows what he must do and gets it done through determination and perseverance. He recognizes his challenges and takes them on with vigor and optimism which usually results in a detailed and exact final product. The third and final necessary characteristic of a first-class procrastinator, which also goes hand-in-hand with determination, is concentration. Distraction is a procrastinator’s worst enemy. Without a clear and focused mind, a person cannot express his or her ideas in an efficient manner. When working on an assignment early, daydreams and distractions are not very significant problems; however, when a grade depends on the work done in only a few hours, distractions can be unbelievably dangerous. From my past exper...