Learning Experience 2: Procrastination Problem

Coming from a big family with many young kids, it is always interesting coming home for the holidays because they are all constantly growing and changing. Because I am the second oldest, I have a responsibility to set a good example for them. It’s a lot of pressure because not only am I worried about the consequences of messing up in school or getting into trouble for myself, but I also am concerned about setting a bad example for my younger siblings. In fact, I am realizing more and more that the decisions that I make today will have a great affect on the future. However, I had a learning experience coming home this weekend for thanksgiving when I realized the importance of time management and decision-making.

Before coming home, I was really worried because I had recently messed up and got a really bad grade on a test and was concerned what my parents would say when I got back. When I actually talked with my parents however, instead of getting mad, they offered me advice of how I could improve and were much more supportive than angry. This was the first time that I felt like I really screwed up in school and it felt good to see that my parents understood about it.  I realized that the reason I did so bad is because I thought I could wait until the night before the test to study because that is what I had done in the past for so many other classes. I also realized that I spend about the same amount of time studying whether I wait until the night before or if I were to spread it out over the course of the semester.  Similarly with papers and essays, I have always had a tendency to wait until I absolutely have to write them. I realized that even during this Thanksgiving break I procrastinated on writing these blog posts, studying for my finals, and reading until the very last day. Now I am overloaded and stressed out because I didn’t use my time wisely to begin with. For me, this learning realization is all about learning to balance my time with work and relaxation so that I don’t put myself in a bad position.

This philosophy can also be translated further to my life. I need to start preparing now and making the right decisions to make things easier on myself in the future when I’m either trying to get a degree, a job, or whatever it may be. I can look back at my life and pinpoint areas where I could have easily excelled had I spent a little time working on them. Looking back on it, even with my college essays, I waited until the last minute to write and submit them. I plan on making a conscious effort to try and improve in this area and hopefully make life easier on myself in the future.