I Should be Working

I Should be Working




I should be working

but

Outside the sky is deep, deep blue

And clean, puffy clouds drift by—

I should be working

but

The grass is so green and new

And the gentle breeze brings

Fresh

new

air.

I should be working

but

Someone’s calling my name out there

And the promise of the day is simply too hard

to resist.

So pardon me, my homework, my grades, my parents—

I can’t refrain

From going out there

Today.



—H R M



I never thought writing about why I didn’t want to do my homework would classify as working, but there you are. Welcome to my blog post about procrastination. Why do we procrastinate? All sorts of reasons. Deadlines don’t look real until they’re right in our faces. We’re tired. We’re lazy. There are other things to distract us. But most of all, we just don’t feel like working.

Unfortunately for us, in this competitive society, always working and being on top of things is one of those things we have to do if we want to make it in the world. Kind of ironic that the thing we’d rather not do is something completely and utterly necessary.

I think we realize this, but as with so many other things, it’s hard to admit to ourselves and others. So, we procrastinate. I’ll admit that I feel like there are so many other things I could be doing (and want to do) that the prospect of spending an hour at the dining table drawing pictures that don’t turn out so well isn’t the most exciting. It’s even worse when someone’s offered to do something, or when the weather is amazing. And, especially when there are several days before it’s due, there’s always the little voice that says, “You’ll be able to do it tomorrow anyway.”

Of course, then we get to “tomorrow” and end up staying up late. Why’s that? It’s a lot of annoyance either way, just postponed. Some people, of course, work better under pressure, but I daresay that’s not all of us. And with less time, we’re more likely to produce a slipshod job and then be frustrated because it doesn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.

But we human beings manage to defy reason every time. That’s why we’re people, not automatons. Reason at all times is reserved for robots. If we always followed reason, well, we’d be predictable—the world might be nice, but then it would be all the same, too.

Does that mean procrastination’s good? Not really. I didn’t honestly mean that. But it’s a fact of life and it proves we’re human and we can make mistakes…even the same ones over and over and over again. It’s just one of those little things that shape us. We shouldn’t do it, but we do. For better or worse, procrastination is pretty much a part of our lives (for teenagers, anyway). With a bit of luck, we manage to get by. Just don’t put it off too far!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should be working.