Procrastination Is Assassin of Opportunity

Emma Roberts

Annette Priesman

English 100

14 September 2016

Procrastination Is Assassin of Opportunity  

        Heart pounding out of my chest, my mind racing a million miles an hour, words flying in and out of my brain so quickly I can hardly compose a proper sentence. I had known my deadline since the first day of class, yet there I was, mere hours before I was supposed to present my book report to my entire class, writing my first draft. A merciless beast abducted my attention, and now I was in an ugly predicament. Why had I not worked on my project sooner? Why did I not manage my time better? Why had I not been more self-disciplined? In the article, “Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination” (published in Observer by the Association for Psychological Science, volume 26, number 4, April 2013), the author, Eric Jaffe, discusses the origins, the problems, the studies, and some possible solutions associated with procrastination.

        The author suggests that those who gravitate toward procrastination tend to suffer more than those who complete all of their work in a timely manner, despite the popular belief that one performs better under pressure. Jaffe references one of the first studies ever documented, published in 1997 in Psychological Science that follows a group of students at Case Western Reserve University; this study takes note of each student’s academic performance, overall health, as well as their stress levels, and compares it to their personal degree of procrastination as they progress through the semester. He tells that the study observes that people tend to put off important tasks that need to be completed because in that moment the task just feels like too much for them to handle at that time, and they sense that they may feel more equipped to burden the weight of the task at a later date, which in turn makes the procrastinators seem as if they have less stress in the beginning. However, Jaffe goes on to tell that by the end of the semester those who have kept up on their work have better overall health, quality of work, and quality of life. Although procrastinating, the author confesses, does seem to initially profit those students who put off their work, however, they actually end up suffering more, and performing lesser to those who did not wait until the last minute to complete their work.  

        Eric Jaffe describes that, although everyone may put off an unpleasant task from time to time, such as cleaning the bathroom, or doing the dishes, there are some who seem to be habitual procrastinators. He introduces two types of procrastinators as situation procrastinators, and chronic procrastinators. Chronic procrastinators, Jaffe explains, tend to struggle more with completing any kind of task, are much more impulsive, and seem to lack some of the basic self-discipline that others intuitively assume. Ultimately, Jaffe articulates, the difference between these two type of procrastinators boils down an individual’s self-control; situational procrastinators, although occasionally putting off an unpleasant chore or two, can get themselves motivated through a fear of failure or perfectionism. Whereas, the chronic procrastinator, Jaffe explains, despite likely having the same fears of failure, does not contain the self-control, or more accurately, enough control of their emotions, to just buckle down and get the chore down, and is more frequently drawn toward a more pleasant distraction.

        The author observes that people commonly learn from their errors. However, Jaffe tells us that for the chronic procrastinator, they seem to forget that waiting until the last minute to finish their duty did not work for them when they had previously attempted to do so. He articulates that this causes them to continue to be stuck that endless cycle of procrastinate, feel stressed because they are running out of time to finish their chore, and ultimately suffering. He explains that this is because of the chronic procrastinators emotional state. Jaffe reveals, amusingly, that while procrastinators are customarily dawdling to find some sort of relief from the stress that the assignment is invoking by waiting, meanwhile they don’t realize that they are just establishing much more stress for themselves later when they are crunched for time to finish their assignment. Procrastinators, he reports, are more focused on making themselves feel better in the moment of distress, with the belief that they will be more emotionally rigged to handle the chore at a later time; they do not realize that they are setting themselves up for more frustration, distress, and shame.