Deconstruction of Procrastination

by B.J. on 11/30/2005 11:20:00 PM 0 comments Print this post

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Never has it ever been more apparent than this quarter of academics in the life of one Brian J.: a lot of things done last millisecond.

Why do we procrastinate ? For me, as an individual human being, there's about five outstanding reasons. Over half of the reasons relate to getting started.

I'll use me as an example, because I do me the best.

1) I can't get started because I often don't see any immediate benefit or how I can make an immediate impact. I feel like I have no control. It seems pointless. It's like punching a reinforced steel gate.

In addition, I figure that time will sort itself out as it does with my socio-cultural anthro classes. As a result, I wait for the deadlines to dictate when I do my work in those classes because I feel pretty confident in what I know. When I apply this study method to classes that have any remotely scientific thread to it, the studying method falls apart.

2) I can't get started because there is no love for the subject. By love I mean, interconnectedness. The subject matter is too distant because it feels like I'll just get stuck.

3) Not in a very encouraging environment that encourages me to be busy. There's a TV, bunk bed, new computer with internet connection, iPod, a free-flowing sister, sleep-walking mom, and cold dad rather than a mass of coffee-drinking conversing branch of intellectuals or head-to-book aZns reading.


4) Another reason is once because I have high expectations to enjoy my schoolwork. For example, when I look at anything race or education-related, I know I can pull something interesting out of the subject. However, when the expectation isn't met once I start, there ends up being/staying a disconnect between schoolwork and what i like to think. I usually enjoy my work because I spend time thinking about it, making it meaningful to me, metaphorizing it, which I haven't been able to do this quarter.

5) There's another thing I'm doing that's more fulfilling than homework. For example, blogging when there's clearly undone homework as another tab. With that something else, you want to fulfill yourself short-term for as long as possible, you imply that you are having some kind of deficit or imbalance. Perhaps this is a by-product of thinking that you are entitled to rest.

So in closing based on empirical observations of myself, I procrastinate because of an inability to start on the project because of a lack of interest and/or feeling of hopelessness with the subject, a terrible environment, high expectations of having fun and then not, and finally because of other distractions.

As American-white middle-class culture and biology dicate now that we've identified reasons to procrastnation: what about solutions ?

A smartass or complete dumbass would say, get an ability to start because of interest and feel like you can control the subject, a good environment, low expectations, and lower the distractions. OK, but then the questions then become: how do I get this ability to start because of interest, a feeling like I can control the subject, and finally, how do I lower my expectations ?

I let time dictate too much.

Random primate fact: males will kill the offspring of another male and the female will mate with that killer just so she could keep up with her social group.

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