As a child I always procratinated. And i found my self doing more and more as i was getting old. But i think when i got to college it had to change. I still would put things off, just not to far off.I saw that my stress would lower as i would finish thing.
Our work habits can indeed change with age and life situation. Sounds like your improved time management skills kicked in at the right time!
I am certainly guilty of procrastination, but I have to point out the positive side of it. I watched a stand-up comedy show once where the comedian discussed why procrastination "feels so good." It is an indulgence, a way for you to say to yourself, "Even though I should be getting ahead and using my time productively, I'm not. I'm going to waste the afternoon when I could have graded a bunch of papers. Instead, I'll do them tomorrow and feel a bit rushed and stressed." I mean, I know that you want to avoid feeling rushed and stressed, but it also is nice sometimes to take 'control' of our time and decide to push something back, delay, procrastinate. It feels good to indulge. Anyway, that's my two cents!
This is true Michaela. It is nice to treat yourself and indulge every once in a while. This can help you feel less stressed and ready to tackle your work when you do return to it.
I think that students often underestimate how long their assignment will take. I teach a hand drafting class. I demo the assignment in class before they start. It takes me about one quarter or one fifth the time it will take them. I tell that to them as I am drawing, but its still hard for them to get it that the assignment will take a lot of time. Then they come to class with unfinished work. I try to allow time in the beginning of class for them to ask more questions and work some more on the assignment. I have a five hour class that meets for ten weeks.
Good point about feeling "overwhelmed". I find the task list is a great way to use the "chunking" method ("like one stroke at a time"). Where you take a large task and break it down into smaller chunks. The tasks become much more doable and less overwhelming.
I find that by completing what I need to get finished early allows for some procrastination by others.
Keep moving foward in every aspect of life and everything will fall into place dont stress the little things as those will comsume your life keep focused on everything that is important in your life. Like family and friends these are the things that can keep you grounded and focused
