By Eric Marchan/reporter
A TR academic advisor told students that “tomorrow” is often the busiest day of the week at the TR Campus Procrastination seminar.
“How many of you stopped doing something such as studying for a test or homework to come here?” Enrique Holguin asked a group of students Nov. 8.
Multiple hands shot in the air.
Holguin said procrastination is something everyone does on a daily basis and could lead to stress, guilt and crisis depending on the circumstances. It can also become a severe problem, which will usually indicate that it’s a deeper psychological problem.
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today,” he said quoting former President Thomas Jefferson.
Holguin said it’s normal to procrastinate as a student, and it’s common to do it even as an adult.
“I used to hate school,” he said. “I crawled right through it, and now I love it.”
Students could overcome pretty much anything, but to get through school, they have to set goals that they want to accomplish, Holguin said.
“It will lead to pulling off deferred gratification and delayed gratification,” he said.
Holguin showed a video about the “marshmallow experiment” conducted by researcher Walter Mischel to define deferred gratification for students.
A researcher gathered children and put them each in a different room. She gave each child a marshmallow and promised the children a second marshmallow when she came back if they didn’t eat the first one that was given to them. Mischel’s goal was to get the children to wait for the second marshmallow because the rewards were greater.
Holguin said another way to complete tasks is to make a list of things that need to be taken care of that day so they can be accomplished.
TR student Molly Nygren said she stopped studying for a test to attend the seminar to see if she could get information to use.
“Making a list sounded like a great idea to me,” she said. “I am going to have to start making them to hold myself accountable for what I’m doing.”
While working on a school assignment such as an essay or studying for a test, Holguin said one should try to schedule reward time. Students should take a 5- to 10-minute break as a reward for working hard.
“But get right back to work,” he said. “It’s a slippery slope when rewarding yourself.”
TR student Donald Battle said he had a lot of goals growing up that he still tries to accomplish.
“I definitely got a lot of feedback and good information I can use in the near future,” he said.
Holguin advised students to delay themselves less, to not leave things that can be done that day for the next day, and work really hard at accomplishing their goals and dreams.
“Only you can decide what you want to do in the future,” he said. “It will always depend on you to make your decisions.”
