I don’t think there’s anything else in the world that I hate more than procrastination.

Don’t get me wrong, I tend to be a procrastinator myself at times, but some people take it to the extreme.

I promise that I’m not a hypocrite, and I’m definitely not perfectly put together either, but I do always feel the need to have everything planned out in advance. When I’m running late for anything (especially track practice), I feel like I’m on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

In eighth grade, I was a big procrastinator. I got good grades, but I was always waiting until the last minute to turn in my work which always made me feel stressed and exhausted. Thankfully I don’t really do that anymore. After a while I realized that I was just causing myself unnecessary stress and eventually changed the way I handled things.

On the other hand, since pre-K I’ve always made sure my clothes were picked out in advance, my hair was done, and my lunch was pre-packed. Not to mention that my color coordinated jewelry was always laid out and waiting for me in the morning.

While I had everything taken care of, my brother was almost never prepared for the day, causing me to be late for school most of the time and I hated it. No matter how many times I tried to advise him on how to avoid running late, he never listened. And to this day he still procrastinates. I guess some things never change. 

One of the worst things to do in high school is procrastinate. Coming into high school I already expected a lot of work inside and outside of the classroom, but I didn’t exactly grasp the fact that I would have to balance homework from eight different classes, after-/school practice, and my personal life. 

Thankfully, I caught on pretty quick and typically get things done with ease. I understand that keeping up with continuous assignments can be difficult, but pushing them off to the side will only make it worse. Yes, we’re all human, and sometimes we simply disregard things that need to be done, but try not to make it a habit

It can be so easy to just ignore assignments and put it off for tomorrow, but we all know where that leads. When I was in eighth grade one of my teachers used to say “Get today’s work done today, you don’t know what tomorrow will hold.”

I took that to heart, why let things pile up on you to the point where it gets overwhelming? Just handle it as soon as possible, that way you have some time to yourself while knowing you don’t have anything to stress about.   

 No, this article isn’t just about procrastination in school, I also wanted to include a few rants about last minute madness in everyday life. Last minute outfits? I hate them. Last minute cleaning? I hate it. Last minute anything, genuinely makes me upset. If you’re going to put in a concerningly lax amount of effort into something, what’s the point of doing it?

 For example, I’ve come across a few people during track season that don’t try at all in practice and then wonder why their times and places aren’t as good as they should be. Please don’t be delusional like some people that live in fantasy worlds while they procrastinate all day and then expect the outcome to be top tier, it’s actually ridiculous. 

Imagine all of the things that could be accomplished if you didn’t scroll through your phone all day. I can admit, I’m definitely guilty of doing this and I’m sure you are too. 

The best advice that I can give is to limit distractions, and also develop a mindset that will encourage you to stop procrastinating and handle your responsibilities. We all struggle at times with the ability to avoid procrastination but in the end it’s all up to you, so make choices that will benefit you in the long run.