“Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well.” - Mark Twain

If there is one thing every single person-regardless of their age, gender, race, culture, etc-believes in: it is procrastination. Procrastination is the sole universal concept everyone is familiar and is constantly at battle with.

I can personally confirm this as I like to consider myself what you would call a “master procrastinator”, in the sense that I completely agree with Mark Twain’s quote. If a piece of work isn’t due tomorrow, why on earth would I do it today?

It is apparent that many people are in the same boat as me concerning this topic. Amara Fernando, 14, said: "my YOU NEED TO GET THIS DONE RIGHT NOW reflex doesn't strike until the last possible moment, and, there are so many better things to do other than work anyway."

I couldn't agree more.

But why do we procrastinate? Bearing in mind, the answer is not something as straightforward as: “We’re just lazy”.

Infact, someone who procrastinates is most likely working much harder than everyone else. Inside the mind of a master procrastinator-the cogs and gears are constantly turning-trying to figure out solution upon solution on how to avoid their problems/work until they physically can’t. Let me tell you, that is hard work.

Here’s an outline of what is going on in a procrastinator’s mind when faced with, for example, a piece of work due tomorrow:

 

    1. Perhaps I should do it, I’ll thank myself later, and this time I’m NOT going to stop half-way through.

    2. A few seconds later: But, I mean, what’s the time right now...only 8 o’clock! I’ve got a whole 4 hours left till it’s due-might as well watch some YouTube videos

    3. 2 hours later: Hmm...maybe it’s a good idea to start now actually. Let me just organise my desk, stationery, etc.

    4. 30 minutes later: Ok, NOW I’m finally ready to start. I’m going to nail this.

    5. 30 minutes later: Ok...this really isn’t as easy as I thought it was... maybe I should come back to it after 10 minutes. Let’s have a break-I've been working so hard!

    6. 45 minutes later: Now I feel fresh and relaxed, let’s get this over with.

    7. 15 minutes later: I finally wrote a word-so proud of myself! What’s the time? Oh dear. It’s 12. Well... I tried. Next time!

 

And thus, the cycle continues (an increasingly hard cycle to escape), entrapping you in the devilishly treacherous arms of procrastination.

The problem is that no one is willing to give up these habits, and I certainly am not going to be able to convince them just through this article. Who knows-you might have put-off reading this article till later as well!

The only advice I can give is-and I’m definitely not the best person to ask for advice about this-just try to remember the consequences. Trust me, you will be grateful to yourself later for completing that piece of work right now.

Stop reading this article and go do some work!