I am currently writing this article with just hours to go before the deadline to submit articles for The Viking’s second quarter release.

Time and time again, I find myself having photo finishes when meeting deadlines for school.

My personal record for the closest call is 11:58 PM on my research paper written junior year, which beat my previous time of 11:56 PM from earlier that year.

Over time, however, those 2-3 hours of intense stress and anxiety begin to add up, so I feel that a brief reflection may be an appropriate best course of action.

Why do I continue to do this to myself?

I feel that the root of the problem is the fear of wasting time.

Why do something now when I could do it later when it really matters? is a question I find myself asking more times than not. If it can be done later, why not do it later?

I think another possible explanation could be a different fear of mine: that the project will end up being changed or completely skipped.

Completing a project weeks before the due date just for its rubric or criteria to be adjusted days before the deadline is a possibility that continues to haunt my worst nightmares.

Another positive (in my mind) of waiting until the last minute is that pertinent information relevant to the project’s completion often becomes available near the deadline.

For example, as the due date for a hefty calculus packet draws nearer, there is an exponential increase in helpful hints doled out in class by my teacher.

Clearly, it is just common sense to wait until any and all morsels of information are provided instead of diving into the assignment head-first weeks before necessary.

Maybe college will change my perspective and change my ways, but, for now, I think I will continue my study habits, trusting the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”