Procrastination:

Who was I as a writer?

“I would consider myself to be a combination of a procrastinator and a heavy reviser.
I also often fall victim to procrastination, putting off projects until the last minute."
Blog Post "My Writing Process"

Procrastination was an unwanted, nonessential part of my writing process. Yet every time I sat down to do my assignments, it reared it's ugly head.


Anonymous, "Procrastination, Srsly!" 02/17/12 via flickr.com
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"This course and the strict schedule limits the amount of procrastination that can be done during the projects."

It's a vicious and inescapable cycle, and It's clear that I continued to fall victim to throughout the progression of the course.

My issues with procrastination began in high school. I would get so overwhelmed with work and papers that I would essentially pretend that they didn't exist. This would result in missed deadline and very poorly written work. I feared that this bad habit would follow me for the rest of my academic and professional life. However, the results may surprise you.

Who am I as a writer?

"I think a few failures this week included procrastinating my blog posts. I waited until today to write them and it took a significant amount of my time." Blog Post "Reflection on Global Revison"

"I think next week will be fine because I was able to catch up this weekend, but i am afraid that if I continue to procrastinate I will not be able to finish in time." Blog Post "Reflection on Production Process"

I clearly have failed to learn to stop procrastinating. Even on the last project, I procrastinated to the largest possible degree.

But I've also learned that my writing process would be incomplete without the procrastination stage. During the procrastination process, I formulate ideas, write words inside my head. When I write down my work, I am simply dictating and editing what I have in my head.

There are clear costs to using procrastination as a writing tatic; it's very easy to miss deadlines and forget specific instructions. But it's also easy to see that there are proven benefits to using procrastination as motivation.

I once had a friend tell me; "The closer I am to a deadline, the exponentially more motivated I am to complete the project."

The Proof

Art of Procrastination: John Perry ”A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing”

Structured procrastination can convert procrastinators into “effective human beings, respected and admired for all that they can accomplish and the good use they make of their time”

The key word here is structured procrastination. The only way to accomplish anything, according to Perry , is to procrastinate on a schedule.

Leaving things till the last minute is a way of budgeting time. There is a true link between perfectionism and procrastination. Leaving stuff until the last minute allows for adequate work.

If it's not necessary, then it will "disappear". Procrastination is a way of prioritizing tasks. If it doesn't need to be done, it will sort itself out.

Procrastination brings more productivity to subconscious thought. WHile our minds are preoccupied with other things, subconcious thoughts are hard at work working through problems.

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The question is, are procrastinators willing "to self-impose meaningful (i.e., costly) deadlines?" The question then, is , "Are self-imposed deadlines effective in improving task performance?"