The Mind of a Procrastinator - Sophia Larson

Procrastination. Many students tend to argue that it is the complex art of using any and all means necessary to avoid the schoolwork that is due by tomorrow morning. Many parents would claim that it is the rueful habit that their children possess which causes them to stay up late in the night, resulting in nonstop complaints of sleep deprivation the next day. Many teachers would describe their experience with student procrastination by talking about the annoyance they face when yet another panicked student sends an email asking for a deadline extension. Experts define procrastination as the voluntary delay of some important task that we intend to do, despite knowing that we'll suffer as a result. Let's be honest: everybody procrastinates. Whether it is for a homework assignment or taxes, procrastination is a natural human instinct. I do it, you do it, everybody does it to some extent. As a procrastinator myself, I can confirm that the art of procrastination increases in intensity over the years of high school.

Let me draw it out for you...

During freshman year procrastination usually settles in three nights before the assignment is due. But the work is usually done without any mental breakdowns, so we assure ourselves that waiting until the last minute to complete assignments really isn’t that bad. Sophomore year narrows down to two nights before. AP Chemistry lab calculations are stressful, but as long as you have a good group to work with, procrastination won’t be too detrimental.

Junior year’s panic sets in the night before--the day before an on-demand essay in English, frantically clicking around College Board’s website when you realize that you have no idea what a synthesis essay is. Yikes.

Senior year procrastination hits the hardest. Assigned work isn’t even thought about until it appears as a red zero in Aeries. By that time, it’s too late. In most cases, the steady increase in procrastination throughout the years of high school is a direct result of high school burn out. If a student pushes themselves to take insanely hard classes, they are more likely to become unmotivated, unenthusiastic, and burnt out with school. The development of senioritis is inevitable in most scenarios. But in the worst cases, the onset of the disease may even occur before the student is a senior. Many CCA students, as well as myself, procrastinate. I asked students around campus about the subject and found that 83% of students interviewed procrastinate. It seems to be a consensus among experts that