The Cycle of Procrastination
Semester is in full gear, and midterms are about to slap us right in the face. While midterms sneak up on you, you also forgot about that quiz or paper due on the same day. Ai a day as they say on the island of Guam. As a senior I have observed the cycle of procrastination.
Stage 1 Optimism: This is the initial stage. You get the paper assigned to you 3-4 weeks in advanced. Your heart fills with optimism and excitement. You put the assignment in your reminders and plan your whole schedule out. I have 4 weeks and I'll work on it piece by piece! But you don't work on it piece by piece. A friend here, a hangout there, a potential date somewhat there--yeah, that takes away some attention.
Stage 2 Self-Assurance: Ahh yes, you're realizing that the days are slipping by, but it's ok, you tell yourself. I still got three more weeks! I'll get to it after this huge test. Then Fine Arts sneaks up on you and you have to ask those 3 people out. I'll definitely work on it tomorrow! But you don't.
Stage 3 I Forgot: The assignment no longer registers on your mind. You're living the good life. Studying, hanging out, going to soccer games, singing in choirs, slaying dragons, saving princesses . . . whoops, sorry, got side tracked. What were we talking about again?
Stage 4 Reality Slap!: After a great weekend like that, what could possibly go wrong? Then your phone vibrates: What Not to Do at a Stoplight Essay is due in one hour. Your heart sinks, and you freak out. You start button mashing on your laptop for what seems like seconds when you realize that 45 minutes already passed, and you only wrote the title of your essay and the word the. You muster up your inner Charles Dickens and write your atrocious masterpiece.
Stage 5 Regret: Despite the last-minute typing session, you do get the paper done with just barely minutes to spare. You rush over to your classroom and proudly slap the paper down on your professor's desk. Sitting in your chair, you overhear some students.
"Do you have an extra rubric?" one asks.
"Sure, I print one extra rubric just for situations like this," the other replies.
Your heart sinks as you grab your paper. No rubric, no title page, and no pledge page-- the 3 essentials to every paper.
Stage 6 Repeat: You bite the bullet and take the late assignment. Your professor assures you that it's fine. There are more papers to get your grade up. Speaking of which, there's a paper due in 3 weeks; better get started. Your heart fills with optimism and excitement. You put the assignment in your reminders and plan your--here we go again.
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