Procrastinating is In the Past by Angelina

Procrastinating is In the Past by Angelina - May 2021 Scholarship Essay

One of my greatest academic challenges has been my tendency to procrastinate. I know that this is fairly common, and it is also something that I noticed many of my classmates dealing with as well. But for me, the tendency to procrastinate was something that I realized was not only causing me more stress and anxiety, but it was also not allowing me to put my best foot forward in my assignments and in classes. I first began to notice this was an issue when my parents would mention it to me. They noticed that I tended to put things on hold or delayed getting assignments done when there was really no reason for me to do so. Also, as my tendency to procrastinate got worse, I realized that it was becoming much more stressful to try and complete assignments in a rushed manner – when all I had to do was start them earlier. As I talked about it more with my parents and the stress it was starting to cause in my life, I decided to really take a look at why I was procrastinating so much. And I found out something very interesting about myself.
For many years, I’ve always tried to be the best at everything I do. I was always driven to work harder, and aim higher whenever I could. But as hard as I worked, I also realized that I was also afraid to fail. To me, failing was not an option so I was approaching every thing in my life with a goal to always excel. But, at a certain point, I noticed that my fear of failing and not being the best was causing me to delay getting started. And then, it just seemed to get worse over time because I developed bad habits. But once I understood why this was happening, I was able to create a plan to help me do better and not procrastinate as much. I began planning my days the night before so I would have a checklist and clear goals for the day. Seeing the list on paper was a good reminder for me, and helped me to remind myself not to delay. It also allowed me to create a list of school assignments which were due so I was able to keep myself motivated. It was also very fulfilling to check things off once they were done! So, things at school have been much better for a long time now. I’m not saying I’m perfect -- but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come and that procrastination is not as big of an issue for me as it used to be. If I could give advice to other kids like me who are procrastinators, I would tell them it’s not worth the stress and not worth the anxiety to put things off because it eventually catches up with you. Do what I do and set goals for yourself, have clear assignment lists and celebrate your successes. It works!