After 2 emails reminding me that this blog post was due on Friday, I figured I should get the ball rolling on this week’s blog post.  So in the spirit of due date-eve, this week’s post will be about PROCRASTINATION.  (I’m going to pull the “do as I say and not as I do” card on this one. You know, to help you guys out. I’ll start to work on myself later.)

Now clearly I am not an expert on this subject, but luckily, there are these strange people known as psychologists that actually know how the human mind really works, and Hara Marano happens to be one of these people! She states that “up to 70% of college students identify themselves as chronic procrastinators” (the other 30% put off responding [Are you sick of the procrastination jokes yet, because I’m not!]).  Now since this is a blog about wellness, I have to tell you the GRAVE repercussions of procrastinating. Okay, “grave” probably isn’t the best word, but it does have some adverse health effects like adding stress to your life that can result in a compromised immune system, leading to a plethora of horrible diseases. Again, there I go freaking you guys out. It’ll probably just end up being a cold.

“How do I end the misery Caleb?” you say. I’m glad you guys asked! A man with a Ph.D. named Joseph Ferrari (vrooom!) says that procrastination is an acquired lifestyle that people pick up as a result of culture, family influence, etc.  Since it is a learned trait, procrastination can therefore be corrected.  Ferrari gives a great list of proactive steps one can take in order to stop procrastinating:

  1. Make a list of everything you have to do
  2. Set realistic goals.
  3. Break it down into specific tasks
  4. Make your task meaningful
  5. Promise yourself a reward
  6. Estimate the amount of time you think it will take you to complete a task. Then increase the amount by 100%

With finals right around the corner, following some of these steps can make this time of the year a lot less stressful. Now to help you start, here is a funny, but sadly true for some of us, picture about procrastination