Am I Too Late?

Haven't we all waited until last minute to do something a few or a few times too many in the past? At most times, it is just the worst thing ever, especially if you literally have to stay up the whole night because of procrastination--be it an art project that you have yet to start, a lab report on an experiment that you didn't understand, a group assignment that is left in your hands, and etc. Most of us have been there. During that time, we start to think--or at least I do about how miserable we are and how we wish had started sooner. Before that happens, we usually think we have all the time in the world but we don’t. When I am procrastinating, everything else but the work I am supposed to be doing seems to entertain me like voluntarily doing chores, spinning around in my chair, or downloading and playing random games on my phone only to delete later. When I actually start doing work, I say to myself “Why didn’t I do this earlier! I’m going to be on point next time.” I know I am being a hypocrite every time I say this because I actually don’t learn from my mistakes and this becomes a repeated process. I remember reading something somewhere about the “Six Steps of Procrastination”. The first stage is false security. When we are given an assignment that is not due until much later, we tend to consider the deadline too far away to worry about. The second stage is laziness. We think about starting our task whatever it is, or nah. Everyone who procrastinates definitely falls victim to this. The third stage is making excuses. My main excuses are usually me being busy doing other productive things, however this doesn’t make the deadline disappear, sadly. The fourth stage is denial of rest. At this point, the assignment has barely been started. You start planning with the time you have left. Instead of rest, you need coffee. The fifth stage is crisis. With the little time you have left, you start working frantically. It’s not about how many days you have left; it’s about how many hours or maybe even minutes. Whether you finish the assignment or not, you know that the best effort was not put in this assignment. You make a promise that you will start earlier next time. The sixth and final step of procrastination is repetition. Even though you vowed to not do it again, it is inevitable that you will do so anyways just like I do. I also remember hearing a quote from Bill Gates that procrastination is a must-have skill. Successful people must be able to work under pressure.