by Alex Bond

Created on: June 22, 2008

Why is procrastination such an alluring alternative to doing what needs to be done? Psychologists often cite procrastination as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision.

When I was a freshman and sophomore in high school I procrastinated much more than I do now. Finals week meant staying up all night the night before a final to do studying for it instead of balancing the study time throughout the week. Writing an English paper meant thinking about it the night before and waking up in the morning a few hours before it was due to actually write it. Looking back on that time of my life now, I wonder why I did that to myself? Procrastinating helps to put off the stress of getting started but only to increase the level of stress as time goes on. Starting a paper or studying isn't actually that hard. Once you start doing it and get in the rhythm and flow of things its not at all bad.

I find it ironic that procrastination is linked to fear of failure. It is a good example of self-fulfilling prophecy. If one is afraid that they are going to fail, then they procrastinate and don't start their project or paper, thus increasing the chances that they will fail. In really extreme cases the student may even rationalize failure to attempt to accept it during procrastination. Its relation to task aversiveness is also slightly ironic. I've noticed when procrastinating, that my level of aversiveness towards a task is significantly higher when procrastinating about starting that task, than when I'm doing it. Once I actually start doing whatever it was that was being put off, I often question why I was so afraid to start it.

Procrastination is running rampant not only in schools but all across America. Many people do not pay bills on time. A large portion of these people actually have the money but put off the actually chore. And what do American corporations do about this? Capitalize on it of course. There are late fees for utilities and restarting service fees. People can procrastinate as long as they are willing to pay, either in academic success or monetary value, for it.

Another aspect of corporate America that capitalizes on procrastination is credit cards. Many people decide that they would like to have a credit card. In this way they can buy things now that they don't have to worry about or pay for until later. These companies are actually making millions of dollars off of people that are procrastinating. If people

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>