With the arrival of warm weather and a countdown to graduation in the back of everyone’s minds, the final stretch of the spring semester is adding stress to most Keene State College students’ lives.
An increased workload, coupled with procrastination, is a recipe for disaster that KSC students know all too well.
Photo illustration by Luke Stergiou
KSC junior Nathaniel Wolf said while he procrastinates on most assignments, he can’t really pinpoint a reason as to why he does it.
“I guess at this point, it’s just force of habit,” Wolf said. “I actually find when I’m working under the pressure of time, I produce better work as I know I can’t get any more distracted so I guess it’s beneficial in that instance.”
Wolf said procrastination doesn’t typically lead to stress until the end of the semester, when more assignments are due and deadlines are fast approaching.
KSC junior Nick Stapleton added, “The end of the semester is when scholarships have to be filled out and classes have to be registered for,” in addition to final papers, projects and exams.
Stapleton noted that a real problem for him is how the increased workload at school interferes with his work schedule.
“I need the money to pay for my education, but it subtracts more from the time I need to do work on projects, forcing me to procrastinate in a way,” Stapleton said.
Stapleton is no stranger to procrastination.
“[Sometimes] I get so overloaded with work that when I’m nearly caught up, I need time to blow off steam and relax. Usually instead of doing my work, I’ll catch up on sleep, read a book or hangout with some friends. Sometimes, I’ll go for a run or a bike ride,” Stapleton said. “I tend to keep my procrastination under control so that it doesn’t impact my grades or school work, although it can put me under immense stress.”
Stapleton added that at the end of the semester, there’s less time for him to procrastinate, though that’s when he feels like he needs to most.
KSC senior Will Hadden said that while he doesn’t procrastinate with everything, when he does, he usually underestimates how long something will take.
“I occasionally will procrastinate to the point where things become an emergency and must be taken care of immediately,” Hadden said. “And generally, when I’m not doing the work that I should be, I’m watching Netflix or trying to find something good to eat.”
Hadden said the key to combating procrastination is motivation.
“I often need the motivation that comes with deadlines. Deadlines appear most frequently during the end of the semester,” Hadden said. “Toward the end of the semester, I reach a peak in my level of motivation.”
Dakota Umbro, a KSC junior, said she typically procrastinates on things that she has the option of putting off.
Umbro said, “I think I procrastinate because I know that what I am putting off could be done at another time. But whatever I am doing in the moment is the most important.”
When she’s procrastinating, Umbro said she’s often doing other assignments she put off, but that the key is prioritizing.
“I think toward the end of the semester, more things are due and there are more things to do, specifically with projects or extracurriculars,” Umbro said. “I think the spring semester each year is pretty stressful, especially if you are a junior or a senior. Life really starts to hit you in the face.”
Jill Giambruno can be contacted at jgiambruno@kscequinox.com
