Assignment after assignment. 

Due date after due date.  

The work can be overwhelming and start to pile up. 

Before a student knows it, they look at their calendar and have an art project due the next day along with a history test and English homework. Of course, they have not even started anything yet because homework always seems like a problem for tomorrow.  

High school students are used to the heavy work loads and multiple assignments due at one time. It is known, yet often pushed to the back of the mind, that time management is needed in order to find time for everything to get done. It’s normal to complete the assignments in the order they are due, but some like to wait until the last minute in order to complete things even if they are given weeks to get the work done. 

“I usually put work off ‘till the last minute because I feel like I can do things at the last minute and do a good job, depending on the work and the teacher,” junior Daniel Lee said. “I do think procrastinating is a bad habit because if you keep putting things off then you’re not gonna get the work done, and you’re gonna have work piled up on you.” 

For some people, the work just catches up to them, but others purposely wait until the day before because they know they will get it done somehow. There are also people who believe their best work is done closer to the due date, so they wait in order for it to be the best work they can put forward. 

“I procrastinate because I feel when I’m rushed into doing an assignment, I do better and actually focus,” sophomore Kaylee Norton said. “I think even when I procrastinate I can still do good work because I know I have to get it done, and if I don’t then I get bad grades, so I do my best and get it done.” 

Others like doing the work as soon as they get it. They believe the work will be better because they will have more time to complete it. Therefore, if they have questions to ask the teacher or need to get help on something in order to complete the assignment, they will have time to do so. Doing work in advance would also cause less stress in the future, so they at least wouldn’t have to worry about making that particular task a future problem.  

“I do my assignments as soon as they are given to me because then I won’t get overwhelmed when all my assignments pile up,” sophomore Anna Bius said. “I think procrastination is a bad habit that can hurt you especially when you get into college and eventually have a job. It is better to break this habit when you’re still young.” 

Doing last minute work could be both a blessing and a curse. Doing things at the last minute means the person won’t be able to ask questions if they have any, and it also could cause all their work to pile up. On the other hand, when students work on a project as late as possible, it leaves less time for second guessing and divided attention.

“I try most of the time to get my assignments done when they are given to me. I believe procrastination is a bad habit to make because it makes getting work done hard,” freshman Seth Keener said. “I don’t believe you can do as good of work at the last minute than you could have if you would have done it to begin with because you have already wasted so much time.”

A lot of people often feel that if the work gets done when they procrastinate, then why would they stop? Procrastination is a habit that works for certain people, and it is very difficult to break which makes this cycle of the due date being the day started on the assignment never ending. 

“I think some people thrive under pressure, and when they procrastinate, it allows them to do better than when they were first given the assignment,” Bius said. “Other people like me need to get the assignment done as soon as possible so they have time to really think about what they’re doing.”