One of the biggest problems I think people individually have (at least one of the big problems that contribute heavily to stress) is procrastination. It’s no surprise that it affects most people to some degree, even if it is usually only attributed to students.

I think the reason so many people are afflicted by it is simply because its easy. While its true that some people have day planners where they write everything they have to do in it, they’re in the minority. It’s much more simple to try to keep track of everything in one’s own head, so it’s no surprise that more people don’t do it. It’s actually a lot of work to make sure everything is always so organized. Truth be told, though I love organization and keep track of things on my phone’s calendar, very rarely do I add one-time events that I need to remember (for example, I’ll just try to remember to talk to Person X today about Z).

The problem with that is that those events are the things we need to be writing down! I don’t need to remember that I have class at this specific time every week, because I do it every week. It’s actually really important to write down those nonrecurring events!

Another reason I personally procrastinate is because when the busiest time of my week ends (around Thursday), all I want to do is relax. I tell myself I’ve earned a break, so I don’t start picking up my homework in earnest until around Saturday. But that means I have to have a week’s worth of things handled (homework, blog, etc), by Monday, and it can get pretty stressful!

I don’t know how bad your procrastination is, so let me ask you: Have you ever tried getting everything handled early? What would happen when you get home from school on Friday and decide to work on that project that’s due Monday immediately? Sure, you don’t have any free time Friday, but you get to go to bed that night with a clear conscience and wake up knowing that your time is yours, and you can do anything you want with it.

When you’re procrastinating, relaxation doesn’t come as sweet as it could. You’re sitting there reading, watching TV, whatever, justifying your laziness by saying you’ll have time to do it. Let me clue you in here: You’re not doing yourself any favors. You’re just making excuses for yourself. Getting through the week isn’t “reward” enough to allow for as much relaxation as you’re probably giving yourself. You’re rewarding yourself for something you haven’t done, and I bet it doesn’t feel that great.

So, work hard. I know you had a long day, but if you let yourself rest now you’ll lose it. Push yourself. Your weekend/free time will feel so much better if you get everything done now.

Procrastination is indulging the child in you that hates work. Don’t give it enough control to allow for that. You wouldn’t allow your son to play without doing his homework. Why would you do that to yourself?