Opinion: Life’s too short to do homework on a Saturday.

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Spring quarter has finally arrived — birds sing, flowers bloom and UO students lie out on the grass soaking in the much-needed vitamin D they missed out on during the winter. Although the sun is finally peeking through, anxiety looms like a dark cloud over the student body. Spring break, as blissful as it may be, is tragically short, and few of us are looking forward to the return of classes. It’s back to Quizlet, lab reports, essays and not doing the readings from the textbook. And of course, we’re all doing what we promised ourselves we wouldn’t do: putting off what could be done today until tomorrow. The majority of us have been in school for upwards of 15 years, yet we still find ourselves starting the weekend’s work on Sunday night and sending in our papers 1 minute before their midnight deadline.
In the constant battle between procrastination and productivity, procrastination reigns victorious. So why do we continue to fight a war we know we’re going to lose? It’s time to let go of the shame and guilt surrounding procrastination. We need to start putting off our work for as long as possible.

We’ve all heard the reasons as to why we shouldn’t procrastinate. Year after year, parents, teachers and professors reiterate the same idea: It’s good to get a project or paper out of the way so you can stop worrying about it and enjoy your time. This is fairly intuitive. If a paper is assigned on Tuesday, and I successfully complete it by Thursday, then I have a whole weekend free to do what I please.
For me, however, this doesn’t work out. Instead, if I attempt to do my paper well in advance of the due date, the lack of pressure prevents me from doing work. I twiddle my thumbs, scroll through my phone and take 3 hours to do 30 minutes of work. I’ve turned down plans and pushed back my other responsibilities only to get little done and waste hours of my time. Worse still, I feel the guilt and stress of having attempted and failed to complete an assignment.
Although the quest to complete work ahead of the due date may seem like a noble pursuit, procrastination is not the villain we’ve made it out to be. Instead, it can actually increase both problem solving and productivity. Tasks generally take up the amount of time an individual has allotted for them. This is a phenomenon known as Parkinson’s Law. An essay written in class may only take 50 minutes to complete. Write that same essay outside of class, and it could take multiple hours over the course of many days. Start the essay 45 minutes before it’s due, and the pressure of the deadline pushes you to finish your paper in record time.
Procrastination can also help you complete all of the other tasks you have been putting off. My apartment is always the cleanest when there’s an essay I should be writing, and I cook my most complex meals during finals week. These side projects could be considered an attempt to delay a more urgent task. It turns out, however, these less important chores may have helped me in doing my work later on.
A 2004 study compared the difference between conscious and unconscious thought. Experimenters showed participants several similar apartments, with one being slightly superior to the others in cost, location and amenities. They asked participants which apartment they would most want to rent. Those who were first distracted with a 3-minute task made a more accurate decision about the apartments than those who were asked to decide immediately or given 3 minutes to deliberate. It seems as though distracting yourself before an assignment can sometimes be the key to better problem solving and decision making. Spending too much time considering an assignment or planning in advance may not be as helpful as previously thought.
When considering the amount of work that lies ahead, it can be tempting to get some of it done before it’s due. We’ve been conditioned to believe that we should delay gratification and prioritize our future selves over our current selves. Instead, I believe we should take advantage of the time we have on Earth right now. Don’t waste your weekends on assignments when you should be on your phone, in front of the TV or drinking with friends. On Sunday night, you might regret that you neglected your homework and chose to spend the weekend messing around. But by Monday, you’ll be glad you did.
When you look back on your life, you won’t cherish the moments where you chose to be responsible and finish Monday’s work in advance. Instead, you’ll smile fondly in remembrance of the plans you said yes to. So go outside and enjoy the sun. Your homework will still be there when you get back.