Note from the Web Editor: In lieu of a #TBT review, this article on procrastination is being published. Because uh, I didn’t write the review for this week. :^)
Procrastination is good.
Yes, you read that right. Procrastination is good. Well, at least it is if you can do it correctly. It’s a tightrope, this thing we call time management, and let me tell you, as I end my fourth year in college, I never would’ve made it this far if I hadn’t procrastinated.
But wait, why would I procrastinate? Doesn’t that just make things more stressful and run the risk of more mistakes on the final product? Why yes, yes it does. But it’s that danger that drives me. It motivates me. It makes me laugh when I prove my professors wrong when they say, “Procrastination is bad. Don’t do it.”
Allow me to explain. When I have more time to work, I lollygag and toy with so many options that I can’t decide on what to do. When it’s due in three hours, I have no choice but to make a decision and finish it. When I start early, it goes from a concise account to a freaking Snorlax. The time crunch prevents me from overfeeding my assignments, and, luckily, since they’re usually due at midnight, I don’t have to worry about feeding them after midnight, either. I’m forced to only have the bare essentials (and maybe a little salt) when it comes time to submit my work, and I have procrastination to thank for that.
Don’t believe me? One time I wrote a paper three hours before it was due, never proofread it, and submitted it the second I finished my conclusion. Guess what my grade was? 100. Please understand, though: this won’t always work. Give yourself at least five hours.
I took a big risk not proofreading, and I would not recommend doing that. Definitely proofread at least once. Twice if you’re paranoid.
Here’s a handy list for when procrastination might help:
- Two or fewer major assignments
- Short papers/assignments
- Discussion posts
- Most art projects
- Multiple-choice tests
- Core/lower level classes
There are times you shouldn’t procrastinate, though. Yeah, yeah, I know, double standard. But think about it: if you’ve got four major assignments all due the same week, you shouldn’t wait to do them all at the same time. Even with my top-tier procrastination skills, I can’t do three projects at once (I have done two before; it sucked).
You shouldn’t procrastinate on:
- Three or more projects due within a one week timeframe
- Research papers longer than five pages
- Short answer and essay exams
- Programming, academic reading, and/or animation
- Math
- When your professor says it’s okay (it’s a trap!)
I’m not kidding about that animation one. I’ve got a 4,000 frame animation due in less than a month. As of the time of this writing, I’ve finished 22 frames. And that’s just one of four classes. I’ll be fine though. I’m a Super Saiyan or something.
Oh yeah, fun fact: the deadline for writing this article is in, like, less than two hours.