To be honest, I thought my procrastination habits would be a thing of the past upon my entrance into college. Well, here I am, in my second semester, and I will be the first to admit that my procrastinating is at its very peak. That being said, I must apologize, as I have, like you might have guessed, procrastinated writing a blog for a few weeks now. Fear not! Here it is.
As always a list. However, this list will have a title. Without further ado… A few things not to do when you should be doing your homework/writing blogs that I’ve done over the past few weeks:
- Play Zombies. As I have mentioned before, my closest friend Zach attends Arizona State University. The distance between us has not at all hindered our friendship, but rather during our time apart, our relationship has blossomed. Zach and I have facetime dates nearly every night, but not just to talk. Because we’re both that cheap (or innovative, depending on how you look at it) that is our method of communication while we “fend off the undead hordes” together over Xbox Live. As Hope soccer coach Steve Smith likes to put it, “Xbox literally destroys my players’ GPAs.” Well coach, to you I say, check my transcript! Read it and weep, I’m doing better than last semester.
- Clean your dorm room. I have this not-so-awful habit of cleaning when I get stressed. Some, like my roommate, would consider that a great asset. However, let me tell ya, cleaning is awesome until you put it ahead of that 4-page paper due at 8 AM the next morning. On the bright side, at least you’d get to study all night in a clean room, eh?
- Call your parents. Before I say anything offensive, I love you dearly Mom. Yet, when I get on the phone anticipating a 5-minute phone call, those 35 minutes of chatter sure do fly by quickly. Now, don’t get me wrong, keeping in touch with your parents is VITAL… especially during your freshman year. Just try to keep the conversations short and sweet when there’s school work that needs to be completed.
- Go Grocery Shopping. Who can study effectively without their favorite snack? Answer: nobody. I completely agree with that notion. But, wandering around aimlessly at Meijer comparing the prices of crackers is not going to bode well for your academic success. Trust me: been there, done that.
- Pray. Yes Hope College is a Christian University. And no, there is NEVER a bad time to pray. That being said, it is probably unwise to enter into a 20-minute conversation with the Maker the night before a midterm exam (at least, prior to any studying). Yes, God does work in mysterious and wonderful ways; I’m not denying that. However, of His many revelations I have witnessed, He is yet to reveal to me the exam answers in Sociology 101. Quiet time is the best time, just spend some quality time in your textbooks along with your scripture.
- Workout. I’ve never been one to stay at the gym for extensive periods of time. If I haven’t said it enough already; I strongly dislike running. Yet, it was only a week ago that I found myself at the DeVos Fieldhouse eyeing up my extremely averagely sized biceps for a little bit longer than originally planned. I guess my brain needs a workout more than my body does sometimes.
There you have it. Those are only six of the numerous ways that I procrastinate regularly. Hear this, if nothing else: if you’re going to put off your school work until the last minute make sure you like coffee, little to no sleep, and at least be capable of delivering in clutch situations. Enough with all of these buzzer beater shots, walk-off home runs, and game winning goals. The test of a true man comes at 10:55 when that reading response is due at 11.
When you really get good at putting off work, you’ll start writing blogs to stall even more. It’s probably time to get started on that ministry 201 paper…
Have a great week (or weeks) everybody!
With Love,
Steve