Me? A Procrastinator? Never! (Yeah, right.)
Shiloh Adlar
January 2018
So we have all heard the saying, “Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today,” right? Being a Ravenclaw, I can tell you that though we are known as being some of the most intelligent and wittiest bunch of the Hogwarts houses, just like many people, we can be die hard procrastinators. I, too, am extremely guilty of this. After all, I am writing this article 26 hours before it is actually due!
From what I have discovered, there are disadvantages as well as some advantages to procrastinating. Yes, procrastinating does have its benefits! Hard to believe, isn’t it? So let’s start with those.
What exactly are these benefits of procrastination that I speak of? From my experiences, I have noticed that when I procrastinate and it is finally time to work on whatever I left for later because it is due soon, I tend to have much better focus on what I am doing. I have less time to complete it and therefore must focus all of my attention on to my paper or project. I also find that I get a rush of adrenaline which gives me energy due to the fact that I know I am running out of time to complete whatever I am working on.
Another benefit of procrastination, especially for those of you who are perfectionists like me, is that since we have less time, our standards and expectations must lower. I have never written a perfect paper in less than a week, or I should say a paper that I deem to be of high standards to comfortably submit. When I procrastinate because the subject is one that I do not particularly like or because I have other things I want to do and then I get to only a few days or even 24 hours left to write it, my expectations for the paper suddenly are forced to lower and I have to submit what I have. That is not to say that I do not submit a paper that is still worthy of an Outstanding or at least an Exceeds Expectations, but I am not so hindered by my perfectionism while writing it because I must finish it immediately so it is not late. This lowers my stress in ways unimaginable for someone who has little time to complete something, but it does.
Something that does not always happen, but it does sometimes, is that after procrastinating and needing to finish something quick, I find that I have an even better idea of what I want to do. Every now and then, I get marks on a paper I wrote in an hour that are higher than marks I would have gotten on a paper that I spent a week or more working on. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that all my energy is focused into completion, but also because I have been thinking about it over and over in my mind at different points throughout the day and finally narrowing down what it really is I want to talk about.
Okay, so now that we have the advantages of procrastination, let’s look at the disadvantages. Who here has dealt with anxiety before? I know I certainly have. Procrastination will always cause this for me when I think about what I need to do. Even though it does often help lead me to ideas or what not, a high amount of anxiety is not good on a person’s physical or mental health. Anxiety over time will increase stress, as the two play off of each other, which can cause changes in appetite, a weakened immune system, and even sleep problems.
Wasted time is another disadvantage of procrastination for some people. While some procrastinators will spend the time they are not working on their projects by doing other smaller tasks that need to be completed, some will go off and play games or watch movies to relieve the stress that the project is causing them. While this is perfectly okay for a short time to reduce stress levels, if one never goes back to the task or goes off to complete other activities that need to be done, there is time wasted and they may not have time to get all they need to do done, including that project they just put off.
Another disadvantage is what if something else comes up that you can’t get out of yet you still have that project or paper to complete? Now you have even less time, you may miss your deadline, and your stress levels are even higher than before. The task could also be harder than you thought it would be and now you have lost even more time leading to a subpar paper if even that simply because you did not work on it when you had the chance.
So to sum this all up, procrastination has its advantages and its disadvantages. I personally believe that procrastination can be good for a person, but too much can be harmful. So if you choose to procrastinate, make sure that you take all of this into account so you are not left blindsided when the due date comes.
So we have all heard the saying, “Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today,” right? Being a Ravenclaw, I can tell you that though we are known as being some of the most intelligent and wittiest bunch of the Hogwarts houses, just like many people, we can be die hard procrastinators. I, too, am extremely guilty of this. After all, I am writing this article 26 hours before it is actually due!
From what I have discovered, there are disadvantages as well as some advantages to procrastinating. Yes, procrastinating does have its benefits! Hard to believe, isn’t it? So let’s start with those.
What exactly are these benefits of procrastination that I speak of? From my experiences, I have noticed that when I procrastinate and it is finally time to work on whatever I left for later because it is due soon, I tend to have much better focus on what I am doing. I have less time to complete it and therefore must focus all of my attention on to my paper or project. I also find that I get a rush of adrenaline which gives me energy due to the fact that I know I am running out of time to complete whatever I am working on.
Another benefit of procrastination, especially for those of you who are perfectionists like me, is that since we have less time, our standards and expectations must lower. I have never written a perfect paper in less than a week, or I should say a paper that I deem to be of high standards to comfortably submit. When I procrastinate because the subject is one that I do not particularly like or because I have other things I want to do and then I get to only a few days or even 24 hours left to write it, my expectations for the paper suddenly are forced to lower and I have to submit what I have. That is not to say that I do not submit a paper that is still worthy of an Outstanding or at least an Exceeds Expectations, but I am not so hindered by my perfectionism while writing it because I must finish it immediately so it is not late. This lowers my stress in ways unimaginable for someone who has little time to complete something, but it does.
Something that does not always happen, but it does sometimes, is that after procrastinating and needing to finish something quick, I find that I have an even better idea of what I want to do. Every now and then, I get marks on a paper I wrote in an hour that are higher than marks I would have gotten on a paper that I spent a week or more working on. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that all my energy is focused into completion, but also because I have been thinking about it over and over in my mind at different points throughout the day and finally narrowing down what it really is I want to talk about.
Okay, so now that we have the advantages of procrastination, let’s look at the disadvantages. Who here has dealt with anxiety before? I know I certainly have. Procrastination will always cause this for me when I think about what I need to do. Even though it does often help lead me to ideas or what not, a high amount of anxiety is not good on a person’s physical or mental health. Anxiety over time will increase stress, as the two play off of each other, which can cause changes in appetite, a weakened immune system, and even sleep problems.
Wasted time is another disadvantage of procrastination for some people. While some procrastinators will spend the time they are not working on their projects by doing other smaller tasks that need to be completed, some will go off and play games or watch movies to relieve the stress that the project is causing them. While this is perfectly okay for a short time to reduce stress levels, if one never goes back to the task or goes off to complete other activities that need to be done, there is time wasted and they may not have time to get all they need to do done, including that project they just put off.
Another disadvantage is what if something else comes up that you can’t get out of yet you still have that project or paper to complete? Now you have even less time, you may miss your deadline, and your stress levels are even higher than before. The task could also be harder than you thought it would be and now you have lost even more time leading to a subpar paper if even that simply because you did not work on it when you had the chance.
So to sum this all up, procrastination has its advantages and its disadvantages. I personally believe that procrastination can be good for a person, but too much can be harmful. So if you choose to procrastinate, make sure that you take all of this into account so you are not left blindsided when the due date comes.