Procrastination. It’s both a college student’s best friend and worst nightmare. With classes only meeting two or three times per week, it’s easy to push off tasks and due dates for some other fun activity. If it’s not due tomorrow, why do it today?

For those who are new to procrastination, welcome to Hell. There are five stages that you need to be aware of before you adopt the lifestyle of a professional procrastinator.

1. Pushing it Off

This stage is more like procrastination for beginners. You’re not always putting off work, just sometimes when there is something better to do, and you make sure to schedule time to do your work later in the week. When you think about whether or not you’re actually procrastinating, you push it to the back of your mind. It’s not procrastinating if you’re going to do it later, is it?

Answer: it is. Don’t lie to yourself, folks.

2. Denial

Once you just gently push off any thoughts of you actually procrastinating, you tend to realize that you are in fact procrastinating. But wait. You can’t be procrastinating. That’s something bad. You’re totally just mixing a social life with an academic life. Everyone does things at the last minute sometimes. It’s not procrastination; it’s compromise.

3. Excuses

Because you’re in denial, you will begin to make excuses for your procrastination.

“I needed a study break anyway.” “They’ll never show this in the theaters again!” “I can’t resist this deal. What if I never get this opportunity again?” “A cute person will be there, and I can’t let them start flirting with someone else while I’m not around.” “What if so-and-so is there?” “They’re counting on me!”

Whatever the excuse is, it’s not valid. Procrastination is still procrastination.

4. Acceptance

At some point down the line, you will accept that you are a chronic procrastinator. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Procrastination is a bad habit that you may be unable to break, but it’s something that you can learn to accept.

In fact, you may even become good at procrastinating. Those essays that you write at 3 o’clock in the morning may turn out to be masterpieces compared to the ones you spent hours on all week. Those problem sets may be less painful when you’re only working on them for hours straight one day.

5. Repeat