Working through Procrastination

I have always been either really good at time management or had a horrid procrastination problem. Sophomore year was an example of exemplary time management. I finished all of my homework during school and almost never had to do any at home. Before the beginning of junior year I had hoped to continue the time management skills I developed last year but unfortunately, my personal life recently grew complicated and messy. After dealing with my own personal issues I simply didn’t have the time or energy to do homework, leading to my worst bout of procrastination yet and making junior year a living hell. About a week ago I decided to take some time to actively work on myself—develop my personality, values, and habits. One of my focuses is time management. Although it’s only been a week, I can already see the effects and benefits of changing my bad habit.

In the past, I typically ended up doing most of my homework before school, during lunch, or during Uni period on the day it was due. I tried to do as much as possible at home, but I suffered from the perpetual paradox of “I’m too stressed from having too much work to be able to actually do any.” My procrastination stressed me out to a horrible extent and added a lot of anxiety to my daily life. This week, I have been taking advantage of my lunch, Uni, and free periods to work on homework instead of using them as naptime or social time. When I had remaining homework after school, I would finish it as soon as I got home from work. I already feel so much lighter on a daily basis, relatively free from responsibilities hanging over my head. I’ve been able to go about the rest of my night without having to worry about what I have to get done before school tomorrow, and I feel much better already.

I suppose this day-late blog post isn’t exactly the best indicator of my new time management, but this slip-up is due to my falling asleep while finishing some particularly boring math homework and not waking up until 4AM rather than procrastination. I hope to be able to continue my improved time management schedule and develop other aspects of myself, and I would strongly recommend working on time management to anyone who suffers from the popular plight of procrastination.

Winter Finals

For some inconceivable reason, as of a couple days ago I simply can’t wait for finals week. I’m not talking about summer finals, since I don’t ever want to have to deal with all my senior friends leaving and I definitely am not looking forward to a year full of college apps and stress, but winter finals instead. As much as I hate taking four or five exams in the span of three days and I detest the bitter winter air and blankets of snow making it impossible to enjoy the outdoors, there’s something almost serene about finals.

I would classify finals as a week of serene chaos and a time during which community and individual independence finds a perfect balance, and it’s strangely lethargic. We’ve all accepted our inevitable failure (even though the majority of us end up with perfectly fine exam grades) and we have been pushed to the point where our stress levels are so high that we don’t even feel stressed anymore. The circumstance results in an environment so filled with stress that it actually ends up being really chill and relaxed. All the irritating flaws and obnoxious annoyances that I find in some of my classmates disappear for a week because everyone is too sleep-deprived and focused to find the time to be annoying. Instead, these irritations are replaced by a feeling of community because nothing brings a group of people together quite like the collective sense of impending doom that is finals week. At the same time, it’s a week that encourages independence since we’re all so focused on studying and not failing our exams that we don’t have much opportunity to lean on or hang out with other people. Finally, the routine of finals week is really nice. Wake up, go to school without bothering to change out of your pajamas, take your exams and trudge your way through the exam-less classes that nobody knows why we still have to go to, come home, study all night, get the smallest amount of sleep you can possibly function on, and repeat. Overall even though finals came straight from hell, the environment that they result in is actually kind of nice.

                While more exams and stress is the last thing I want right now, I still can’t help but look forward to finals. The environment and feeling of finals week sounds really lethargic right now, and plus I absolutely can’t wait for winter break.