ANN ANONYMOUS / Teen Columnist
Plans are extremely important as we all know, I’m sure. They shape the paths we take in life; our decisions both the good, and the bad. Whether short- or long-term, we all have them.
I absolutely love having a plan. I know how I want my life to go, and I feel secure when I feel I am following that plan. Others, however, “live life in the moment.” This path is also perfectly acceptable as long as you feel comfortable pursuing it. The part I personally struggle with is procrastination. I sometimes find myself dancing around with procrastination instead of essentially enacting my plans —specifically, those plans I have made that somehow produce a larger than expected challenge come the time to actually implementing them.
When I overcome my urge to delay, I realize I feel much more prepared, productive and relaxed; I have gotten whatever it was out of the way, as soon as possible. That can be the tricky part; recognizing that not everything you want to accomplish will fall into place when “you” feel it should. Patience is required, as well as the resolve not to give up on your pursuit.
A great example would be going to work, or school. Even though the inevitable will occur — we will get there — we still press the snooze button on our alarm every morning. For me, I know it’s not because I am still tired, it’s because I tend to dread the thought of another day, with the same classes, and the same repetitive schedule. Despite the fact we only hinder our abilities to be prepared and on time, we still cling to the refuge of warm bed sheets and nothing to do but lay still in the morning. Many of us, including me, have found ways to extend that period of oblivion, by preparing things the night before. I make my lunch, iron and set out my clothes, even put dog food in the dish so I can just put it on the floor rather than wash the dish, scoop the food — you get the picture right?
Honestly, that extra 10 minutes of sleep, is not going to give you a more rested, or prepared sense for the day to come. I imagine those 10 additional minutes of bliss is more for the emotional part of our brain rather than the logical part.
Yesterday, I decided to turn off the “snooze option” on my alarm. I knew there would be no more warnings to get up, so I absolutely had to and I did. Aside from the fact I want desperately to put it back on, I will slowly break my habit of procrastination in one small but meaningful part of my life. I challenge all of you to try, even for one week, to alter a small part of your life that keeps you in a cycle of procrastination. From experience, I believe that you will feel more prepared, and possibly “optimistic” about making more plans for your day and eventually looking into the future.
Maybe even bigger plans.