The Art Of Procrastination

Some or most of us possess a brilliant trait of procrastinating. However, is it totally a waste of time? How do you define a waste of time? Procrastinating is basically not ignoring tasks you need to do but merely delaying the latter mentioned. Hmm, so is procrastinating needed? Or should you dump that trait considered 'bad'. Some work best preparing early while others brag and admit that they work better under pressure - when the date's up to your neck.

I've actually surfed on this as an effect of my own procrastinating character.
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Originally By Dave Noland Columnist

At some points in our lives, most of us have received some sort of "preparing for college" type lessons. Whether it be in high school, with an "Effective Note-taking Seminar" or during Orientation with a "Balancing your Time" discussion, there has been an emphasis on teaching us how to succeed in college, not only within the classroom but outside it as well.

But all these lessons have missed one of the most important parts of doing work in college—effective procrastination. At first, it seems the term "effective procrastination" is an oxymoron, like "military intelligence" or "Bowdoin party." In reality, however, there is such a thing. Effective procrastination, as opposed to just wasting time, has two main elements.

One, it must be an activity with a variable length of time, meaning that you can do it for five minutes just as easily as for 50 minutes.

Two, it must be something that completely engages your mind, otherwise you will just spend the time worrying about the work you should be doing and get no benefit from the procrastinating. Thus, watching TV is not an effective procrastination tool—it engages your mind, but is not really a variable length of time. You could end up catching "The Warriors" on AMC, and all of a sudden your ten-minute break turns into two hours. (For us perhaps, LOST/Grey's Anatomy on tcs 5)

Since so much work is done on the computer these days, one of the simplest and most effective ways to procrastinate a bit is to look at web sites. Thus, the ideal site for procrastinating is one that you can spend a few minutes on, enjoy the content, and then get back to work.

Another great procrastination technique is exercising. Anyone who knows me knows that I treat my body like a temple, and so regular exercise is very important to keep your body as fit as your mind. At least that's what they tell me. Personally, going up stairs tends to leave me short of breath, so I don't really speak from experience here, but I have heard that a short bout of exercising will help refresh your mind.

Continuing with the idea of treating your body well, having a drink while in the midst of studying can often be very useful.

There are many other useful techniques for procrastination that I won't explore in depth here, such as talking to roommates, making paper airplanes, creating your own meth lab, or a host of others. The important thing to remember is that procrastination involves putting off or delaying your work, not ignoring it. Effective procrastination means you eventually will finish the work you need to do, and when done right, actually means you will be more focused and do a better job on that work.

*Modifications done on unappropriate contents
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If delaying means staring and doing nothing, that's just couch potato-ing. When i first thought procrastinating was a total waste of trait, it actually brings out the best in you. When the writer mentioned exercise, I remembered the attitude and increased energy gained to do work even after martial art trainings which I frequent back then. One thing for sure, I need to continue with those. And I realised that i often indulge in a pre-activity that I love before setting myself on a thinker's mode. Why so? Because that acted as a boost of motivation for me to have the right energy and positive attitude to start the tasks I need to commit later. May not work for you, but it does for me.

As such, I end this entry with a sheer feeling of joy and syukur that I am now able to start with my resubmission assignment and some read ups after clicking 'publish post'. Voila~