Procrastinating work is procrastinating life

9/30/15 5:06am

College isn’t really that different from high school. So far, the only two things that have surprised me about Rice are how well refrigerated Fondren Library is and how warm it is in Fondren Library’s men’s restroom. (I’m not telling y’all which one!)

For me, the biggest difference between high school and Rice is the fact that I have not procrastinated at all in my first few weeks here. So now I will, admittedly prematurely, declare myself an expert on the subject.

“Why do we procrastinate?” I say, channeling my inner psychology professor voice. We all know procrastination is bad, and we have all been lectured about it at least once. Simply put, we let ourselves get away with it. The mind of a procrastinator can rationalize almost anything. If I put off my Gen Chem reading, it’s okay, because I can stay up until an ungodly hour to finish it. And if I get a C on a Gen Chem test because of sleep deprivation, it’s okay, I’m not pre-med anyway! Or, as my roommate says, I’m not pre-med anymore!

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We also tell ourselves that we “just don’t feel like it,” as if in order to be productive we must first be in perfect harmony with the universe. We tell ourselves that sometime in the near future we will be in shape to study or work out, which is funny because we don’t need to be in shape to study, and the whole point of working out is to get in shape.

I contend, as a self-proclaimed expert, that when we say we don’t feel like it, we simply lack self-motivation. We let ourselves off the hook, just like children creating false excuses to escape responsibility. Children are motivated by parental punishment and peer pressure, among other factors. We have become motivated by heartless deadlines instead of self-interest. We are slaves of a self-imposed clockwork deadline machine which, for schoolwork, kicks in at approximately 12:30 a.m. the day something is due. This machine pushes us to a point of sheer desperation where learning loses its joy and definition. It becomes “learning.” Working out becomes “working out.” Don’t succumb to the machine. Fight it.

For most of us, procrastination works. We rationalize its consequences and make excuses. In the short term, there seems to be nothing to worry about. But procrastination is not okay in the long run because you can’t procrastinate on life. There is no life after life, in the sense that you cannot relive your college years from the grave. You can’t write for the Thresher from the grave, so I’m told. You can’t relive a late night of frantic studying with your pals. To the upperclassmen especially, you can’t get buzzed off 50-cent Frio beer from the grave, either.

Deadlines shouldn’t be heartless; they are purposeful and meaningful. Life is a medley of fleeting deadlines. Your homework deadlines are chances for you to learn a concept. The time before you graduate is time for you to explore your interests, master a subject and live the college life. And the time before you die is time you should savor to the best of your ability. Every deadline, however challenging, is an opportunity to make that bigger picture better. Be aware of deadlines. Confront them with all you’ve got, not with your last-minute grind. Don’t procrastinate on life.

Kenneth Li is a Duncan College freshman

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