Procrastination

It’s a Fine Line & a Slippery Slope

Procrastination. It’s the putting off today of what we think we can do tomorrow. The problem happens when too many tomorrows slip by and you’re suddenly faced with a looming deadline and not enough hours to complete the task.

I will admit to being a notorious procrastinator. Unsavory tasks (like homework) always got pushed back until the last minute. Surprisingly, this included art projects. Fortunately for me, the vast majority of the time, I could pull it off. Term papers were always done the night before and I’d always receive an A. In college I put off a 25 page paper until the night before. I pulled an all-nighter, called in sick to work the next day, finished the paper with a total of 30 pages, and went to class late to turn it in. Yes, I received an A once again.

I only had two professors call me on it. They knew I put off working on assignments because they never saw me working in class. One was an art teacher. I never used class time to work on my projects and somehow she knew I was doing them the night before. When it came time to critique our work, she’d come and stand in front of mine, study it for a few moments before heaving a sigh and shaking her head.

“You did this last night, didn’t you?” she asked.

Uh oh. I swallowed nervously and admitted that I had.

“Amazing,” she said, looking back at my work, “You’re just one of those people who can work miracles under pressure.”

Another A earned, I breathed a sigh of relief and contemplated what she said. Was that a good thing? I was, and still am grateful for being able to pull it off, but I absolutely hate the stress. It’s torture. Was this the only way I’d be able to produce work that was the slightest bit above average? I’ve tested it many times by starting assignments and projects the moment I received it and have gotten B’s. Wait until the last minute and I would get the A’s. It’s been a long time since college and even longer since high school. To this day, I continue to work my portraits under pressure by waiting until there’s a bit of a time crunch. It’s still not my favorite, but after nearly 50 years I’ve come to the conclusion that it just is what it is.

Do you have issues with procrastination? How do you deal with it? Do you have any special tips to trick yourself into getting started earlier? Comment below to let us know.