I always tell my friends that I feel like a hypocrite because I write articles on how to not procrastinate but somehow, I still do and I always end up pulling all-nighters at the end of the term. Sometimes, things just pile up and you are just forced to pull an all-nighter just so you have time to finish everything and not be behind. There just never seems to be enough time in the day to get through all the work that needs to be completed. While I’m sure you try to avoid all-nighters as much as possible, every college student is bound to pull one or ten a term. If you’re pulling said all-nighter, I bet these 8 thoughts run through your mind:
- “I’ll be done in an hour and then sleep”
Oh, optimism. It’s midnight but you swear if you just focus for the next hour, you’ll be able to get everything done and still get a goodnight’s sleep. Forget the fact that you should’ve started this earlier knowing full well that it would take a while. You rationalize though and for some insane reason think it’s time to take a break.
- “One episode won’t kill me”
You really don’t deserve a break or a reward but you’ve convinced yourself that a mini break is needed. After all, it’s only 12:30 AM – you have 8 more hours until the day really begins, and there’s only like an hour left of work to be completed. An episode of your favorite show is all you need to de-stress, and you swear you won’t be able to focus unless you take a break.
- “OK, game time” … “JK, I’m hungry”
An hour passes because you just had to pick a one-hour show. You’re set, you’re ready to buckle down, and get the assignment out-of-the-way. PSYCH. That show made you hungry, and you’re not hungry for something simple, no – you want something so specific that you’re either cooking, ordering take out, or driving to get some food. The time you’re waiting for food might as well be spent watching another episode, it’s not like you can focus without food anyways.
- “OK, FOR REAL – It’s time”
You got a break, you ate, you’re comfortable – it’s time to get started. You’re doing real well too, you have your coffee and it’s 3 AM. Your goal is to get everything done ASAP and get some real sleep. As you go through your assignment, you wonder why you procrastinated so much. You’re zooming through everything, and you feel like you’ll be done in a jiffy.
- “Why do I do this to myself?”
The work is easy but tedious and this is why you’re still awake. Honestly though, why? You know better, you’ve been in school for at least 14 years, and you know your assignment schedule from the beginning of the term. You ask yourself “Why?” multiple times, and you know the reason is either because you’re lazy, or if you want to make yourself feel better – you’re in over your head, and are super busy.
- “What is life?”
You’ve reached the point where you just contemplate on life. The sun is about to rise, the work is almost done, and you have no motivation to finish anything. You start to question your life, looking into the future, and stalking everyone. This is the time where you’re either stalking people on social media, have multiple tabs open about future dreams/schools/jobs, or you’re lurking YouTube.
- “Time to finish”
You have like two more things to read, and there’s no way you can f*ck this up. You spent the night torturing yourself, you might as well finish the night off with a bang and complete everything. After 6 long hours, you’re officially done. You know that deep down that it could have been accomplished sooner and way earlier but whatever, you’re done and you have time to spare.
- “I swear I won’t do this again.”
Listen to yourself telling lies. We both know that you’ll pull another all-nighter and while you hope it’s not any time soon, you know that you’ll be up all night again. You swear you’ll go to sleep early tonight, but you pull ANOTHER all-nighter. Except this time it’s for real priorities, like catching up on all your missed shows.
While I don’t advocate pulling all-nighters constantly, I also know procrastination is a key aspect of most college student’s lives. It’s easy to promise yourself to start work earlier but sometimes, things just pile up. The next time you feel like procrastinating, just remind yourself just how shitty the feeling of an all-nighter is.
Featured Image via screengrab of Shameless
