How to Procrastinate

The trick to procrastination is simple: don’t stress until you have to. If you study the vocab words the period before the test, you’ll remember them for the test, and you’ll spend about a third of the time you would’ve needed to study the night before to remember them after you sleep. Now I may be a lazy teenager, but I have actually been successful in my procrastination.

• I write all essays the night before they’re due. It saves time; if I write it all at once, I don’t waste time reminding myself of what I was writing and getting back into the groove.
• I always get A’s. The thing is, if you are an A student, extra time will only hurt you. If you start early, you change it constantly and think about all the things you should do to it throughout the week or month in which you are writing it. It’s stressful. Just like on multiple choice tests, your first instinct is often right, so let it be.
• Useless information does not need to be retained. If you care about the subject, stay up all night studying, taking notes, and saving any information that you pick up on. If you don’t, memorize it in the morning and forget it. You won’t need it later; save time and learn about things you like.
• I like to write in my spare time. However, AP classes don’t like to give me spare time, so I have to make my own. When I’m at school, I don’t have access to a computer. This is the time to do homework and study. What else is school for?
• Study Hall and that required standard class are your friends. Don’t waste time attempting a social life here; text on the ride home and make plans to actually do something with those losers. Use your free school time to catch up or get ahead on homework, so you’ll have time for a life later when you need one.
• Utilize mornings. Everyone is tired and surprisingly focused in the morning. No one gets excited, (except my nextdoor neighbor), at six a.m. That is the time to do your homework without missing out on anything fun.
• If you understand it and the teacher is not taking up the homework, do a problem from the beginning and the end to make sure, and pay attention when they go over it in class.

Now I’m not suggesting never doing your work; turn it in when it’s due. Unless you have enough extra credit to make up for the loss, that is. In that case, don’t do it if you don’t want to. Work on the things that matter, and start thinking about your future. We all have dreams that we need to chase after, and Algebra should not get in the way of that.