I’m catching up on Jersey Shore as I type this. Damn that devil, procrastination.
It’s week seven, and although I am doing well in my classes, I still feel behind. I’m sure some of you can relate. You do the assignments, take the midterm, skim through most of the readings, yet you still feel like you’re treading water and any minute your legs are going to give out. This is what is happening while I count the days until it’s time to go home and eat turkey until I can’t breathe.
I’ve put off things such as research papers, long reading assignments, even writing this blog until the last minute. I think we all feel that we work best under pressure. That our minds do the best work at 11:55 p.m. when the assignment is due at midnight on Blackboard. Sometimes it works and most of the time is doesn’t. I always find something better to do. Clean my room, clean the kitchen, clean my car, I just clean. Even though my room is spotless, my geography book stares at me, daring me to open it. I have yet to master learning through osmosis.
In an effort to battle that wretched procrastination, the arts editor and I decided to have a homework party last Friday. With nothing but good intentions and study materials in hand, we decided to spend the night in to do homework and bake cookies for a Halloween work meeting.
Three episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” four batches of cookies (one burnt) and one episode of “The Office” later it turned into a full blown procrastination party. Mission failed. We had good intentions, but I just don’t know what happened. Well, I do know, but ignorance is bliss. Doing everything BUT my homework was so much more fun and enticing.
Since I know I am not the only one who is a procrastination master, let’s make a pact. Neither you nor I will put off the important stuff for the rest of the quarter (I know its only a couple weeks, but baby steps). And as our prize, we can bask in the glory that comes with completing a task and checking the box off our to-do list. It’s a win-win situation for everyone and studies show that doing something with a buddy has better results than doing it solo. I don’t know the exact name of the study, but I’m sure there is a study somewhere done by someone that says that. Trust me, I’m a journalist.
If you want to pinky swear on that, I’ll be at my desk in the newsroom. But enough promises, it’s time to put the plan into action. Geography homework here I come … after I watch the new episode of “The Office.”