Picked up a random poetry book From the crowded shelf. Quick easy hour read: Delight and wonder. Then, Found…
All About Procrastination
I survived high school and college on sheer luck and procrastination. How? I have no idea. I always did a good job when I waited till the last minute to do a major assignment, well, except for my Junior History Class, but I don’t want to do talk about that one. I actually experimented when I was a Junior in College: I completed one project for one class way ahead of the due date, and for another class, I waited till the last minute. The result, I scored higher on the latter. Perhaps different factors played into my grades, such as my level of interest for each class, and the unique sets of criteria for both projects. At any rate, I convinced myself that waiting until the last minute is better for me.
Flash forward a couple of decades, I am teaching ninth grade students. Procrastination still is a common problem. If I give students two weeks to work on a project, undoubtedly, a handful of them will have put it off till the last minute without success. I actually had a student give a presentation on why teachers should give students longer to work on speeches. This student made some valid arguments:
- How not having enough time to do a speech can affect the outcome.
- Why students don’t have time.
- Giving students more time to prepare for a speech will benefit the teacher.
However, this student failed to see the teacher’s point of view. Yes, students are overwhelmed with other classes besides mine, and some have sports, or jobs, after school, but even if I have given a student more time due to lack of time outside of school the student will still not put effort into the outcome (ask me sometime about my class of Sophomores last year.).
Unfortunately, some students just need to learn their own lesson on procrastination. Fortunately, I have learned that as a teacher, I can no longer procrastinate like I used to do. I cannot put off grading or contact with parents because things change from day to day so to avoid making my to-do even longer I have to stay on top of things. I can only hope that students will see the realities for themselves in what ever future career they end up.
Why am I talking about procrastination? My darling 6th grade daughter has to do a book report each quarter. She is at the end of third quarter now and her report is due tomorrow. I have been suggesting and telling her to do her report for the last three months since she was given the instructions. I kept hearing from her she was almost done. Today, she called me, upset, because she could not find the pieces she had already done. We searched through her room with no luck. She said she sort of remembers taking it to school last Friday and it might have fallen out of her binder. (I bet you can guess my reaction.) Ummmm….
Instead of going to a movie with her youth this afternoon, she has spent the day starting over on her report. She actually told me she felt better about what she has now because I have been here to help her. Now seven hours after she called me, she is done (I think). For her next report, I am going to be less suggestive and more direct. There is no reason she cannot get the work done within a couple of weeks, including reading of whatever book she needs to read.
What is the lesson she has learned today? “I’ve learned that I should get things done earlier so I don’t have to stress about it at the last minute.” Huh, this is exactly what she had told me last year about a similar project.
The bottom line, as a teacher and as a parent, we can all help each other get our work done. Sometimes, like with my daughter, consequences need to happen (missing a movie with friends), and sometimes, like with my students, his/her grade is reflective by the lack of time each one puts into the project.
Dr. Adam Price, in an article on “4 Reasons Why Teens Can’t Stop Procrastinating,” suggests the underlying issues stem from such things as “anger,” “playing the victim,” “self-doubt,” and “perfectionism.” The latter two I see in my daughter. The first two I see tied to the apathy my students often show when I ask them about their project.
The bottom line for procrastination I feel is that it is much better to get something done quickly without it hanging over your head like a dark cloud of endless guilt. Hence why I just posted my grades a week before they are due because I do not want to have to worry about them.
I totally agree with Dr. Price as he explains:
“The procrastinator has a false sense of security. He feels optimistic that everything is in control, so there is plenty of time to goof off. He often misjudges the time it will take to complete a task; an estimate of 30 minutes for a job that will take two hours leaves him short. This is why procrastination has been likened to a credit card — it is easy and fun at first, but then you get the bill. And the interest is paid in feelings of dread, anxiety, helplessness, and self-hatred.”
Procrastination is the heavy chains that Bob Marley carries around after death in Dickens’ A Christmas Story. I avoid it when I can, but even I am not perfect at it yet.
Here are some other useful articles from Pyschologytoday.com:
- “A New Study Reveals How Biased We Are About Future Intentions to Exercise.” Timothy A Pychyl PH.D.
- “A Surprising Procrastination Fix: Implementation Intentions.” Al Pittampalli PH.D.
- “Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating.” James Clear