Foreword

Interesting enough, I just realized this "extra-credit" assignment as for the 7th week's task is already a challenging task for procrastinators.
The incredible number of tasks, and the huge amount of information that has to be read in order to write four responses become the biggest workload ever among all the journals I wrote for this class...
After reading all these articles, I found that I am a typical procrastinator mixed with perfectionism, which I think it is a terrible "syndrome".
Besides, now I am also committing the same mistakes as usual -to procrastinate on my journal that talks about procrastination. Ha ha how ironic.

1. Structured Procrastination:

In the past, although I procrastinate all the time, I still stereotype it as a very bad habit that everyone has to get rid of. However, I am surprised that there is actually an interesting yet healthy type of procrastination on the planet. (which is good news to me)
This helps me to evaluate the ways I procrastinate, and how it can be used in a more efficient manner.

I totally agree that there are things that sound incredibly important and have really strict deadlines. And the deadlines and regulations always freak me out too much that, I ended me giving myself too much anxiety and pressure to get it done at last minute.
However, some deadlines such as for school admissions, tax payment, and some important competitions cannot be missed. These are the deadlines that cannot be missed or screwed up. In this case, I believe the serious consequences of losing the chance totally outweigh the benefits of procrastination. And I think any reasonable human beings who want to succeed -regardless they are procrastinators or not- will be more willing to overcome their fear of procrastination and get things done on time.

After all, structured procrastination is a better way to deal with things at last minute. To a certain extent, I sometimes will organize my to-do list in a similar fashion. I keep mind-notes about my daily agenda, and prioritize each task according to its urgency and importance. To make procrastination more organized will eventually have a positive impact on one's overall productivity and efficiency.

2. The universal illness - Procrastination

I can't help but chuckle when I look at the categories of procrastination and the excuses people have to procrastinate...because my situation applies to most of them!

While the previous article provided me a better way to procrastinate, this article helps me to diagnose my problem. I realized that I procrastinate because I am a ultimate perfectionist(a little bit over the limits) and I have a low frustration tolerance. As a perfectionist, I always tend to delay my tasks because my fear of not doing things completely right. Sometimes my anxieties toward criticisms and denials become great obstacles to prevent me from starting things earlier.
However, perfectionism also causes unnecessary self-destruction and guilt when I realized the stupidity of procrastinating. Hence, I am also in a dilemma between two polar opposite forces - dragging and pushing.

Moreover, I have low frustration tolerance. I will tend to put things aside if they are time-consuming, boring, and the deadline seems far away. Just like the Anthropology online class I am taking this quarter, I need to read at least 4 chapters of reading in order to answer 2-3 questions every Monday. Sometimes I even need to watch a 2-hour documentary in addition to all the materials I need to cover. I already felt too overwhelmed and woozy right after I read the syllabus. Besides, the other problem is I don't really enjoy the process...Therefore, every Monday will be the time I stay up really late to jam everything in one night, which is a really terrible experience. But I can't help to start it early!

As a side note, I also particularly like the examples of excuses the author cited..such as:

1. Mañana - "I'll do it tomorrow."
2. Contingent mañana - "I'll do it tomorrow, if ..."
3. Grasshopperism - "I need to have some well-earned fun first."
4. Escapism - "I've got to get out for a while to clear my mind."
5. Impulsiveness - "My problem will be solved if I change my major, or attend a different college, or... "
6. Music and reading - "I'll relax a while and then get started."
7. Cavalry to the Rescue - "The professor will get sick and cancel finals!"

Just to name a few...ha ha.
Even though procrastinating can be evil, I think it sometimes gives us fantasies and fun times when we are slammed with tons of tasks that God knows where to start.

3. Good and Bad Procrastination

I totally agree that procrastination is hard to cure. It's like an addiction or fear in most people's hearts. Some people are completely into procrastination; and others are victims who are trying to improve their problems, but have not yet succeeded. Instead of digging into our brains to find a cure, why don't we just try to convert it to a positive energy and be type-C procrastinators?

According to Paul Graham, type-C procrastinators "put off working on small stuff to work on big stuff". They are successful people who try to divert their attention to small tasks that can later contribute to the bigger tasks. Admittedly, big tasks are scary and time-consuming. They are always dreadful to be dealt with. Many people have a hard time battling against the temptation of putting down the big stuff, and do the easy small stuff. It's reasonable that small things such as errands and leisure hobbies are more enjoyable and greater sense of accomplishment. However, the reality is, we have big things to do! Even if we become a coach potato, this won't drive away the big nasty tasks. They will always haunt us back unless we get them done.

To be a good procrastinator, is to have the ability to control the big tasks. Don't let the big projects control over you. There are several tips Graham offers that I think are very effective solutions to my situation. First, chop the big task into small chunks, do it little by little. Small tasks are always easier to swallow than the gigantic ones. This will definitely encourage me to start things earlier. Secondly, change my mentality to delight and easy attitude. In other words, try not to scare yourself before you even start doing anything. Last but not least, share the work with friends. A supportive group pressure will eventually push you to accomplish more than you are able to.

4. Miscellaneous weaknesses

Apart from procrastination, perfectionism has always been giving me a lot of pain. Although this attitude has been pushing me to accomplish things with promising results, I sometimes end up pushing over the limits. This in turns harm my own mentality and efficiency.

If perfectionism is not handled well, it can cause a lot of side effects. Stress is one of my terrible aftermaths, and so as the fear of failure. Whenever I am doing some big tasks, my perfectionism always drive me to a point when I am afraid of starting things because I cannot stand any imperfections. Sometimes I could not sleep nor eat anything because of some stupid mistakes I made that have left some scratches on my accomplishments. (such as the rejection from UCLA) But hey, this is not a big deal after all!

After going through several hysteria, I have enough! I can't stand jumping on burning coal all the time. In order to solve this problem, I learn to accept the reality. Besides, I treat my tasks as games. Games have winners and losers. And if I screw up, I just lose a game. Also, I practice structured procrastination to distract myself from these fears. I try to do smaller tasks to accomplish my bigger tasks. These are pretty effective strategies that I am trying to adopt. And they are still pretty feasible in curing my hysterical perfectionism.