Emily Grant Privett

Procrastination is an inescapable force that we all suffer from at one point or another.  I cannot think of anyone who has not put something off until later.  Putting off something, big or small, is a common human action.  A common excuse is that “I will feel like doing it more later” or “I work best under pressure.”  But sadly, these things aren’t really true.  No one feels more inclined to do their work the next day.  Working under pressure just leaves less time for proofreading and the ability to improve one’s writing.  The fact is that procrastinators lie to themselves.

There are different types of procrastinators.  Some people like the rush of working under pressure.  They find it difficult to work without that urge to finish their assignment.  Working under this pressure is what drives their desire to finish the assignment.  It is almost seen as a challenge to them to finish their work.

Another type of procrastinator is one who avoids their project.  Often, people avoid assignments because they are afraid of failure, and in some cases, success.  These sorts of people are very concerned with what other people think of them.  They don’t want to create something that could cause disapproval from others, so they avoid the problem altogether.  They would rather have people think that they lack the effort to accomplish their job than to lack the ability.

The final type of procrastinator is the sort that cannot make a decision.  They cannot make a decision, meaning they are not responsible for the outcome of the events.  They put off making a decision until the very last minute, having then to react in a hasty way.  For example, when thinking of a topic for this article, I was at a loss.  I had no idea what I wanted to write on.  I was unable to make a decision about what to write. Because of this, I put off the writing of this very article.  Until analyzing my own actions, I was acting within this sort of procrastination.

Now that I have defined the different sorts of procrastinators, it is time to explain how procrastination affects people’s lives.  Twenty percent of all people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators.  Procrastination has consumed their life.  It has become their lifestyle.  From not paying bills on time, to waiting until Christmas Eve to buy Christmas presents, these people are greatly affected by their life choices.  Whether one likes to believe it or not, procrastination is not a problem of time management.  Everyone has the same ability to manage their time, but it is whether they chose to manage their time well that is the issue.  Procrastinators are merely more optimistic than others.  We don’t bother to stop what we are doing at the time.  We block the commitments we have on our minds, only to be bothered with them later.

Another problem that procrastinators have is finding common distractions.  These distractions don’t require a lot of commitment on their part, nor do they require a lot of effort.  Personally, Facebook is a common distraction, as it is currently up in another window.  Another common distraction is checking one’s e-mail, as that is up in another window as well.  Any simple thing that can be used to avoid one’s commitments is a worthy distraction used by procrastinators.

Procrastination is capable of destroying relationships in the workplace as well as private relationships.  When dealing with people who don’t do their share of the work until the very last minute, stresses rise.  Tension between group members or team members easily rises.  It takes its toll on the others around one because it shifts the procrastinator’s responsibility on the other.  Avoiding one’s problem is the same as avoiding one’s responsibility.  This is another cause of excess stress between one’s communities.

Finally, procrastination has been proven to affect one’s heath.  During one academic year, it has been proven that procrastinating college students have more compromised immune systems.  It has been shown these students are more likely to get colds and the flu when suffering from procrastination.  Another common health issue is insomnia.  As William James said, “nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.”  Especially with students, sufficient sleep is extremely important.  With procrastination comes stress.  With stress comes sickness and insomnia.  These two factors lead to a rather unhealthy lifestyle.

Sadly, as a whole, we do not take this problem as seriously as it should be taken.  We see it as a problem, but we don’t do anything to work against it.  Often times, excuses are accepted because procrastination has become such a common problem.  Such a simple problem is often responsible for stress-related problems like the destroying of social and private relationships, as well as health issues.  It’s a shame that such a problem nearly everyone deals with is so accepted.

From the person sitting next to you in Bible and English class, to the struggle you personally have, procrastination is all around us.  I’m not one to say procrastination is wrong and everyone who procrastinates is a terrible person, because that would make me hypocritical, as this very article is the work of a procrastinator.  I am saying though, that procrastination is a common, difficult problem to overcome.  Procrastination steals time away from us.  Whether willing to admit it or not, everyone suffers from procrastination at one point in their life.  Procrastination is something worthy of overcoming, but I’ll work on that later.