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With Chinese New Year fast approaching, most of us will find ourselves with endless time on our hands, in the form of two whole weeks away from school and the never-ending amount of stairs at AISG. However, the trail of undone, and due assignments will not see the last of us at the end of this week. The shadow of unfinished work will, unfortunately, follow us back home. I have no doubt that most students will be saddled with never-ending assignments, SAT preparation, studying and just the constant cycle of worry that most high-schoolers can’t seem to run away from. Activities such as enjoying one’s self might seem like luxuries which AISG students just can’t afford.
Chinese New Year break hasn’t even begun, and the list of assignments that I have due on the first week back after the break has already started piling up. But, my ideal scenario isn’t to spend the break slaving over my work: instead, I would like to be able to find time to do things I enjoy which don’t necessarily fall on the academic spectrum. I normally like to finish all of my work during the first few days of break and then spend the rest of the time relaxing. It’s a much better alternative compared to having the thought of undone homework nagging me constantly and letting worry become my constant companion. But let’s be honest, when does the former scenario ever pan out? Almost all of us leave our work to the last night before school starts and are left to deal with severe stress and anxiety. The benefits of an extended holiday, such as a rejuvenated mind, fade away as one spends the last day under extreme pressure trying to sloppily complete all of their assignments.
Why does this happen? Why do most humans have that annoying but innate tendency to leave everything to the last second? And where does our supply of willpower go when we’re faced with a large stack of homework and unending responsibilities?
The above phenomenon of leaving everything to the last second is actually known as procrastination. Procrastination, as defined by Google, is “the action of delaying or postponing something” and is commonly called the “thief of time.” Everyone, from the most conscientious adult to the unreliable 7th grader, can fall victim to procrastination and it can be seen in daily life. Sophomore Emily A., recounts that, “[She] has been procrastinating since elementary school and has just learned to live with it.” Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates developed a word for procrastination, Akrasia, which is a testament to how long this type of behavior has existed (https://jamesclear.com/procrastination).
Most people have shoved, or have encountered someone shoving all of their work to the 11th hour and then scrambling to complete it. Procrastination, if controlled and kept at a minimum, will have a very negligible impact on one’s life—however, if it’s allowed to reign uncontrolled and unchecked, it can have several detrimental effects. Students who procrastinate often fall behind on their work and are unable to complete their assignments and hence get poor grades. Procrastination can affect one’s grades, and ultimately one’s mental health as well. WebMD (https://www.webmd.com/), a popular medical website, states that “procrastination can lead to depression, low self-esteem, guilt, and inadequacy.”
Researchers say that the reason we procrastinate is
One thing to note, however, is that procrastination isn’t something that is uncontrollable. It is an intentional delay of doing work, which means that it can be kept in check and strategies can be employed in order to maintain maximum productivity. Sophomore Lillian L., says that “[she] remains on task by listening to violin music and staying away from distractions like [her] friends.” So, how can the rest of us follow Lillian’s example and ensure that we keep procrastination at bay?
- Give Yourself A Reward For Completing Work
Work can be made exciting by adding incentives which encourage interest and dedication. One can arrange for small rewards for themselves, such as food or Netflix time, which they can give themselves after completing a set number of assignments.
- Find A Partner In Crime
Find a friend or study partner to do your work with, and ensure that you keep tabs on them while they keep tabs on you. This allows both of you to complete your work and creates a system of checks and balances to ensure productivity.
- Give Your Electrical Devices To A Family Member
Give your phone, or Mac to a parent or sibling under the strict instruction that it can’t be returned until and unless you complete your work. This way your phone is kept out of reach so that it can’t tempt you. Even if it does, a system is put in place where the phone can’t be returned until your work is completed.
- Install Study-Friendy Apps
This is a method which I, personally, use all the time during finals season. I am notoriously terrible at controlling my self and I find it hard to not get distracted. I don’t like to entrust my electrical devices to my parents and prefer to keep them with myself. But in order to not get distracted, I use an app called SelfControl, which can block apps or websites for a specific amount of time so that one is unable to access them. One can choose the apps or websites they want blocked (‘blacklisted’) and they can customize the amount of time that it is to be kept blocked. By doing this, distracting apps such as Instagram or Snapchat are rendered unusable, which means that a person is left with no ooption other than completing their work.
Hopefully, armed with all of this knowledge, you are able to use the CNY break to your advantage. H
It happens to the best of us.
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