Unlike most students, I’m not procrastinatin from any homework since I’m not doing much this term. See that capital “N” next to my year number? That means I’m off-stream from the B-Soccers. I suppose I’ve gone meta and procrastinated on the reason why you should procrastinate. I’ll get to that point. Eventually. Actually, what’s going on in my mind right now? Just to get a sense of what a procrastinator’s mind is actually thinking. I’m trying to come up with an image or two that will go with this PCP, possibly a webcomic or a custom image. Or a screenshot of the current top stories on Reddit. I really should get to to the main point. Or surf on Reddit for several more minutes to find that quintessential image. Ooh, that’s a fun word! “Quintessential”. I could probably find more words that sounds really long that tingles the ear like the fur of a new fluffy hat. But anyway, I’m rambling. Time to actually start my counterpoint!
You should procrastinate because you need a break! I mean, c’mon! Being in class for 6 hours, or possibly even more per weekday? That can bring a strain to any student’s brain! Not to mention all those assignments and labs that are due. You need to step away from the books, the course notes and formula sheets and check out what’s really outside the classroom. Yes, OUTSIDE. For those who don’t know what that is, or have no idea what this “outside” concept is, the Internet is also an option to explore when stepping away from the items above. It’s full of fun and free content, such as kittens, rage faces, comics, and possibly the latest celebrity gossip that nobody really cares about. I heard something this week about Justin Bieber having some sort of relations with a 20 year-old woman, but I thought that he was with Selena Gomez or something. What I find extremely peculiar is how much fame Justin Bieber has, and he’s younger than the majority of students on campus. Procrastinating again on the article, sorry! If you’re not convinced why you should procrastinate and why you should think about random stuff that might not really matter in life, continue on to my next point!
You should procrastinate because everybody (well, mostly everybody) is doing it! According to the Procrastination article on Wikipedia, about 80-95% of students engage in procrastination. If you know that most of your class is chugging along well this term, at least you know that according to this statistic (which will most likely change since I’ve told everyone about it, and this Wikipedia article isn’t locked) they’ve been procrastinating on their work for a good chunk of the term. If most of your class isn’t doing too well this term, realize that the bell curve will save you. Also realize that even if your class is doing well this term, they’re still part of that 80-95% statistic and probably have avoided some or all of their work this term. In fact, in trying to make such a factual statement plausible, I might’ve procrastinated on writing this article and modified that Wikipedia article, just so I have something to write about!
I had as much fun writing this article as you had drooling over your last bit of calculus homework because you were up all night procrastinating, because I’m sure I’ve convinced you to procrastinate by now, and that you’ve procrastinated in reading the rest of this piece. Just in case you didn’t, I have one last point! You should procrastinate because it makes everything look a million times more appealing! For those who have done WatPD (or even PDEng if you’re old like me) you probably have procrastinated at least once or twice before doing that online assignment. Haven’t you ever noticed how interesting the items in your Facebook/Twitter feed become just before doing an assignment? It’s amazing and it’s fantastic! For some reason, you suddenly have the urge to join your friends and generate a list of words from your Facebook status and share it to everyone, or read the article on the 5 most ridiculous myths that you probably believe but know aren’t true (yes, I got that from Cracked). After finishing your assignment for the night, try going back on the Internet again. Check out the latest on Facebook, or the new top stories on Reddit. Notice how they’re not as appealing anymore? The power of procrastination right there, just to make your life better!
Now, how do you take advantage of such a power? Good ol’ Time Management! If you figure that you have 5 hours tonight to finish up your two assignments, assuming that they only take about 2 hours each, you can probably procrastinate for an hour. Realistically, you know that assignments could take longer than 2 hours, and more realistically, you don’t have 5 hours to spare and will probably procrastinate for about 5 hours anyway, but you know that if you procrastinate now, that’s the only chance that today’s top posts on Reddit would seem the most interesting. I also don’t think you want to be left out on the latest meme to hit the Internet, would you?
Sure, you’re here at the University of Waterloo for the sake of academics and getting good marks (or passing) and would probably have to hand in SOMETHING in order to get what resembles a passing grade on Quest. You also know that final exams are coming up, and that I really shouldn’t have written such a poorly convincing article at this time. However, I still urge you to procrastinate! Give yourself a break and do something that isn’t homework! Come up with random words as I have in this article and make those your new Facebook status! See what kind of responses you get. There are tons of things you can do to make your life more interesting! Might as well get moving and procrastinate!
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