The art of procrastination

It's finals week, in case you were wondering what could possibly cause me to go so long between posts. I thought in honor of this time of year, I would write about procrastination... since that's exactly what I'm doing right now anyway. Somehow, writing a blog post seems much more appealing than writing a term paper at the moment. The reason I was so busy last week was thanks to procrastination. I seem to be a creature of habit, because I follow the exact same pattern every semester-- I start off strong, determined to get my best grades yet... then I get partway through the semester, and I wonder why I am studying when there are so many more appealing options available, such as hanging out with my friends, watching YouTube videos, or lying on my bed staring aimlessly at the ceiling while listening to Here Without You for the 100th time. Then I get to the end of the semester, realize I've got 12 weeks worth of work due tomorrow, and think "Oh... that's why." Fortunately I know I am in no way alone on this one. I always laugh when professors go over the requirements for a midterm paper two weeks before it's due, and seem surprised when no one responds after they ask "Any questions?" No one responds because it's written on every one of their faces that they plan to not even consider the paper until midnight the night before it's due. Fortunately, it's possible to get an A on a paper you finished at 3:00 a.m, because most professors at BYU have never experienced a paper written during the daytime hours and profread the next day (or at all), so they think the quality of papers they get in is our best, most polished work, and grade accordingly.