I have to admit, I procrastinated on writing this article. Not because I didn't want to, or because I had so many other things to do before this, but because I just lacked the motivation. This isn't the first time I've lost motivation, whether to write an article, do my homework, or even clean my apartment. It's so easy now to lose the motivation to do anything, and I think it's time we did something about it.
Loss of motivation tends to manifest itself as procrastination. We push off doing some assignments in favor of something we deem more important, or we just don't feel like doing whatever it is. So many times we're aware of our procrastination; my friends and I tell each other all the time when we're procrastinating. A conversation may start with "I'm debating if I should do this really important assignment that's due tomorrow or if I should do this menial task that has no deadline and is of no current importance," and it usually ends with friends saying "You should definitely do the menial task that has no deadline and is of no current importance."
You would think we would support and encourage each other to do the thing with the close deadline. You would think we would say no, stop procrastinating! You would think we would motivate each other.
I think the problem comes from all the jokes the internet makes about procrastination now. There are memes, tumblr posts, tweets, and even that one episode of Spongebob, that aid in our procrastination. The posts make light of procrastinating, and seem to make it cool to procrastinate. I mean, who actually does their homework?
I can't lie, I'm always entertained by posts that accurately describe how I feel when I procrastinate. The initial "I've got time" attitude, the guilt that comes when you should be working on that paper but aren't, and the mad-dash to finish before that 8 a.m. deadline. I know the feeling, and seeing posts describing this makes me laugh every time.
I think it's time to change, though. I think it's time to start motivating each other, not aiding in each other's procrastination.
Motivation is so important in getting any task done, but accomplishing anything can be made more difficult with friends saying, "Oh, you can just do that later, can't you?" So let's change that.
Let's encourage each other to work on that paper for more than just a few minutes.
Let's tell each other "You can do it!" when the procrastination comes from doubt.
Let's remind each other that it's okay to do important tasks before going out.
Let's work on motivating each other more.
And hey, while we're at it, let's motivate ourselves the same way. Remind yourself that you can do it. Encourage yourself to work for more than a few minutes at a time. Tell yourself that it's okay to take the time to study before you go out. Motivate yourself, too.
We can all do this. Whatever you're stressed out about, procrastinating on, or just don't feel like doing right now: I believe in you. You can get it done!
