It is 5 pm. I’ve just walked in from volleyball practice and am thrilled to look at the clock and see how much time I have for homework. I’ll be in bed by 10, I think to myself, this shouldn’t be too difficult. I shower, and then sit down at my desk and start at around 5:30. I grab my physics folder and begin the endless measurements and calculations necessary to find the direction a random boat is travelling and at what angle. My thoughts while doing this range from, “Why does any of this matter?”, to “I wonder what’s going to be for dinner.” I continue on with the homework, and let's be honest, I have no idea what I am doing. Eventually I feel as though I am just drawing random lines and just begin to estimate on the measurements. Eh, close enough, I think to myself.
Because I did such a wonderful job on my physics homework, I reward myself with a little Twitter and maybe a few levels on Candy Crush. That saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” also applies to “Time flies when you’re trying to do anything but homework.” By the time I was finished looking at my phone, it was about 6:30, and I still had about 5 assignments left to do. Oh no, I thought to myself as I practically threw my phone across the room, I need to focus.
I pull out my AP Stats binder and do some practice questions. Finding and interpreting the value of ‘r’ can be so repetitive and boring. My mind wanders to anything but my homework, Maybe music will help, I thought. Procrastination is most effective when one plays songs they know the words to. I turn all of my Pandora stations on shuffle and before I know it I am jamming out to the best variety of songs. Eventually, one of those obnoxious, moment-ruining commercials comes on and I look at the time. 7:15. Shoot.
I switch subjects, Psh, stats homework is optional anyway, I tell myself, Priorities, right? At this point I’ll convince myself of anything to get my work done faster. Time for the weekly English terminology. I start on one of the first assigned words. Diction. Hmm, diction, diction, dict--di, din, dinner! Suddenly, I come to a realization. I haven’t eaten dinner! As if on cue, my dad calls from the kitchen.
“Greta, dinner is ready!”
“Okay Dad, be there in a second!” I close my folder and race to the kitchen. I’ll take anything to get me away from that desk. Dinner consists of delicious chicken my dad cooked, and a lot of conversation. By the time we finish eating and do the dishes, it is definitely somewhere around 8 o’clock.
“Well,” I say to my parents, “I still have about 70 percent of my homework left to do.” They tell me to get crackin and shout words of encouragement at me as I race back to my room. Greta, do not check your phone. Don’t do it. I tell myself over and over again. You’ll just get more distracted and you’ll never finish your homework. I sit down at my desk. Oh, but what if there is a message that’s really important, or maybe a schoology notification! And now I’ve talked myself into it. I grab my phone thats on the opposite side of the room from my desk due to my previous attempt at trying to focus. I sit there for what must be a half-hour, doing absolutely nothing that is helping me with homework. Twitter is always way more interesting when there’s other work to be done. And you know you’re procrastinating when you check Facebook more than 3 times in than 10 minutes. Facebook!? Really?
Anyways, by now it is definitely nearing 9 pm and I am nowhere near where I should be in terms of the amount of homework I need to finish. I pick up my AP European textbook and skim the assigned reading. I justify this by telling myself there won’t be a reading quiz and that I’ll be fine not knowing the material. Next is precalc, where I do about half the problems, not really having any clue if they’re right, and save the rest for study hall. That was quick. Its nearing 10, and I still have a few tests to study for. No biggie, I got this, I tell myself.
Accepting the fact that I will in no way be in bed by 10, I start to push the goal back. First to 10:30, then to 11. Before you know it, I am now shooting to be in bed by midnight, if I’m lucky. I study my Macro notes as well as I can. The little focus I had has now deteriorated to almost nothing. I’m reading the words on the page, but my mind is somewhere else. My eyes start to get heavy, and I close my notes and get ready for bed. No sense in studying while tired because honestly, how much can that really help you? I look at the clock. 12:10. Not bad, I think to myself, and I shut my eyes preparing to do it again tomorrow.
In order to procrastinate effectively, you must have the mentality that there is way more time available to you. In other words, always overestimate how much time you actually do have. It is never necessary to know what the actual time is, because while procrastinating, time is endless. Only once you get back to work does time seem to matter. Justifying every move you make is essential to the perfect procrastination technique. Try play some great music you know the words to. Or maybe even just stare at wall. It is different for everybody! In order to perform this technique the best, you need to have a purpose for each thing you do. Talking yourself into it is definitely the best route to take. It helps to make it seem as if taking a little break--that may turn into a long break--is okay. With a little practice, procrastination is easy and can be mastered by any high school student, with little to no effort!
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