A Humorous Editorial by Jacob Robinson, Wildlands Biologist
Ever have a project that you put off until tomorrow? Well my tomorrow was the day before yesterday and today is two days after tomorrow. Soak that in for a minute or two or three!
Yes, good ole’ procrastination is the reason I am finally putting letters to screen at 12:51 pm on a Friday afternoon just in time for that close of business deadline. Sometimes I wonder why I procrastinate, but I think I’ll figure that out later.
What really concerns me are the Pros and Cons of procrastination. I assume the leading experts in the field have drastically different views on the merits of procrastination.
I, however, in true procrastinating fashion, am going to comment on some of the Pros and Cons from one individual’s blog about procrastination that was located at the very top of my Google search.
The Pros & Cons of Procrastination
PRO: “You get a lot of other things done when you procrastinate.” – Not really, I have not been able to focus on anything productive while thinking up an idea for this article.
CON: “You are avoiding something which tells your brain that “the task” is to be…avoided.” – False, I have been avoiding “the task” because my brain won’t tell me anything.
PRO: “Your brain is designed for survival, and so you will.” – This is true, and if you have read this far you can see that “survival” indicates completing the bare minimum.
CON: “You cannot be very creative or make any adjustments at the last minute.” – See above comment.
PRO: “If you’re lucky, after time the project or task is cancelled or no longer required and you saved yourself a lot of work.” – I have never had this happen.
CON: “If you’re not lucky, the deadline gets moved up and you get thrown into a coffee-driven all-nighter complete with lots of junk-food, panic and ‘splainin to do.” – This always happens.
CON: When you Google procrastination you find a bunch of quotes that make you feel bad.
CON: You keep getting asked how the article is going.
CON: You have to lie about how the article is going.
CON: You’re labeled a procrastinator.
As you can see from this very scientific survey, the Cons outnumber the Pros, because it turns out there is no Pro in procrastination, other than the first syllable in the word. So tackle what you’ve been putting off so you’ll have time to enjoy what lays ahead.
