17) Procrastination

We all do it.

Each year, we take new classes with different teachers, but one constant remains the same: We wait until the very last minute to study. Oh, we make excuses, there's no doubt about that. Here's a couple that should sound extremely familiar.

"Well I did read 50 pages of a book that was supposed to be finished the second week of the semester so I think I can take the weekend off."

"If the test is Friday and I work Thursday night I should really wait to study until I finish work which will be around 1:30 a.m."

"Okay, the paper is due in three weeks and I have to cite three secondary sources and do a presentation. I have to Wikipedia in 2 1/2 weeks and if nothing's there, I'll go to the library an hour before class."

Do they really make sense? Maybe if you have an ass-backward mind like Stanley Kubrick. The thing is we trick ourselves into believing that this is the only way to study. Not only do we accept it we embrace it as a normality.

Each semester, we get a syllabus for each class, and 95 percent of the time, they list when our tests and papers are. Theoretically, we could plan a head by writing our papers and studying weeks in advance.

Theoretically yes. Reasonable? Not in our eyes.

Take this as an example. In order for me to get credit for my Internship with NESN, I have to write a six page paper explaining what I learned and keep a daily log of my work for the semester. I started the internship a week before classes and was fully aware of the work I needed to do for it.

Haven't written a damn thing.

Now I have my three classes each with their own exam and paper due at the end of the year, along with this internship paper. How the hell did I convince myself that this was a good idea? The same way we all do: I told myself it wasn't going to be that difficult to push the paper to the last possible minute...and I'm regretting it.

So heed my warnings, friends! I know this semester is over, but the next one is right around the corner. Go to the library and pay over a grand for books you could get at your hometown bookstore for five bucks and read before classes even start. When they start, you write those papers early and study as soon as you get home!

Together we can stop this vicious cycle! Together we can...

Who the hell am I kidding? I waited an hour before I was supposed to send this article to my editor to write it. Then again, I did wait until the last minute and nothing bad happened. Ah, what the hell? One more semester of this shouldn't be that bad.

Damn it...I'm doing it again.