What do you think of procrastination? Can you list anything positive or negative about it? I'm looking for feedback because I have an important class assignment about this which will determine a large portion of my grade! For class, I am trying to list reasons why procrastination is actually a good thing!

So far I've got:

Procrastination can lead to eustress, which increases adrenaline, which in turn helps us get tasks done faster. Adrenaline is very motivating, and if you put in the effort, your professor won't know you waited until the last minute. Student syndrome refers to planned procrastination, when, for example, a student will only start to apply themselves to an assignment at the last possible moment before its deadline.

It is done in order to induce a level of urgency high enough to ensure the proper amount of effort is put into the task. Procrastination can also reduce stress, because we allow ourselves to relax until the final moment, in which we get everything done in a hasty abrupt manner. Another thing is it's good to have a deadline, because that deadline is what allows you to procrastinate properly.

If you don't have a deadline, you are likely to be less motivated to complete your task, because nothing's really stopping you, and it won't ever feel urgent enough. I was like this for many years in regards to weight loss, but then after I weighed myself (Thank you to the person who started the BMI thread) it galvanized me into taking action.

This was because my weight was much worse than I'd expected. If you have a deadline for something, and if there are desire consequences upon not meeting that deadline, you will experience that adrenaline rush and positive stress mentioned earlier, which will thrust you into taking action.

Edited 10/4/2018 04:02:03

Cons : bad, you don't do stuff that you should.

Pros : will write later

Does not work when you are depressed. You stop doing things and let the deadline pass without caring much.

Procrastination is the worst of all attitudes of our generation. I mean, it has always been there, but with all the destraction we can get nowadays from social media, Youtube, Gaming, etc. it is definetely worse.

With no deadline, people will most likely never complete tasks because they never find the motivation...

Edited 10/4/2018 06:29:07

Here's a good video about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4LrPobIcxI.

Without watching it, the title says it all:

People are trying to find good things in procrastination. Another bad attitude of our generation: People can not think about a topic from a neutral perspective anymore - people are looking at what they are actually doing and then they try to verify what they do, making the most absurd points/arguments.

I feel bad looking at intelligent, young, (hardly) procratinating people.

Sounds like you need to procrastinate past the deadline for this assignment bucko

When I was in HS with deadlines on coursework it was amazing what other things you could convince yourself to do instead of the task. I am certain bleaching the walls to prevent the ingress of mold was absolutely nessesary before finishing the coursework :-)))

Edited 10/4/2018 12:06:22

Procrastination is usually out of laziness.... if you're beinglazy it is bad'


otherwise, having priorities is fine!

I think tbest summed it up perfectly

"Procrastination is usually out of laziness" - not true I think. I think most procrastination is out of fear and/or capitulation actually (especially when it applies to students). See this comic: https://abstrusegoose.com/272, and keep clicking on the guys head (or anywhere else in the frame)

90

Edited 10/4/2018 15:17:29

It's bad, don't do it kids.

Thoughty2 is contrarian; his content involves picking hard stances and sticking to them, which is a good artform for those interested in the art of persuasion. Obviously there is a counter-narrative to the claim of procrastination being positive. I guess the main problem with procrastination is chronic procrastination, in which a person isn't meeting their goals in life and lagging behind due to procrastination.

In short: People naturally pursue pleasure, and laborious tasks are turnoffs. Student Syndrome has legitimate benefits, but it can also indicate that someone may have trouble getting things done in general, which obviously bares a negative impact on someone's life. You're not going to live a truly great life if you're not constantly improving yourself and accomplishing tasks.

Edited 10/5/2018 13:18:21

For class, if you do it last moment:
1. most others have (mostly) finished the task. Often this can help you do your task with fewer errors and faster;
2. teachers often give only vague instructions at the start of the task as part of the "new way of teaching", and only give concrete instructions and advice on the last moment, making it lucrative to start on the task as late as possible.

Edited 10/5/2018 14:51:01

I'll answer your question soon. But not now.

I can relate to that second point DD. My professor is slowly giving us more information on our task. :)

It's bad and it sucks too.

I can tell you first hand that it is not good. I try every day to be better and start work earlier, but I lack any motivation to do anything. All I do instead is waste away watching YouTube, playing Warzone, or surfing Reddit. My existence is miserable. I have so little happiness or motivation for anything anymore. I don't get enough sleep and because of it all my tasks take longer, making me even more tired in an extremely vicious cycle. I wish I had never procrastinated, but my life is too far gone for me to have ever even hoped for that. I lack motivation for anything and I never do anything with the few friends I have. Please help me.

Alexander I agree... of course, procrastination of not good. However, for the sake of alternation viewpoints, I can argue that procrastination is a good thing. :P

Why is it too late for you? How old are you? If you're a young man then I highly doubt it's too late for you to change direction!

I'm only 16 years old. If you have any advice, I would gladly like to hear it. I know I need to fix my life, but I'm struggling to get the motivation to do it while at the same time I feel terrible about missing out on experiences from not doing anything.

Okay, you're a kid. I have plenty of years on you. I don't do anything except play Warlight and go to college. I don't plan to start a family or get a high paying job, because I don't want those things. I just want to be comfortable, but I would be happy to work again when I am ready to.

what you need to do is think of the things you feel you need to accomplish in life. If your health isn't great (like mine, I'm dieting and planning to exercise and become fit) then you fix that. If you need education or a job (you're only 16 so you may still be in HS) then you try to attain good grades.

But that's obvious stuff. >_>

Edited 10/8/2018 03:39:31