Photo: Jinx/cc
We all know better than to put off our work. Deadlines always creep up quicker than we expect.
Yet we all procrastinate; whether you like to admit it or not. Delaying or putting off tasks can give you a false sense of security that you have all the time in the world to get it done.
Students especially are known to hesitate when it comes to working on projects or studying for tests once they are assigned. Scott Macdonald teaches 8th Grade at White Oaks Public School. He shines some light on why students procrastinate “the fact that they can push it off forever without any negative repercussions, I think that plays in their mind. If we brought back stricter guidelines it would curb the amount of procrastination later in life.”
Macdonald preaches time management to his students but he still sees a disregard towards deadlines on the regular; which can be frustrating ” it’s a pretty large problem. I see it everyday in their reaction to tests and projects that they know about well in advance. They know about it for weeks, then the day before they need more time. Why, you’ve known about this for so long what is the issue?”
While the concept of time proper time management needs to be introduced at a young age, the true message often is lost on young minds until they are well into their teens and have more on their plates. Such as part time jobs, extracurricular activities and school work.
By then, bad habits may already be set.
The plates can get heavier for post secondary students. Samantha Gubbels is a 1st year Social Sciences student at Kings University/College. Some weeks she works up to 30 hours at her job; on top of a full-time course load. “I have classes Monday-Thursday then I work Friday and the weekend. So I push off my work until the last possible minute as I tell myself I’ll do this later. It’s do it the night before or don’t do it at all.”
She also mentioned that it’s easier to procrastinate when you’re busy because you focus on what you need to do at the present moment. Looking ahead at deadlines can feel like a distraction to people in her shoes.
Putting off your work only leads to stress later on. You may believe that you do your best work under pressure, but we can all do better to be more prepared and not rush to meet those deadlines.
