All people procrastinate, although many people believe it to have a negative impact on their lives. All of our teachers, parents, and even peers constantly say that procrastination is just plain “bad.” Their reasons include: it lowers grades from cramming for tests, the quality of work isn’t as good when it’s rushed last-minute, and it causes poor health from pulling all-nighters and stressing out. Many people also tell others not to procrastinate and give tips on how to stop. However, this is impossible, as there are always other things people could be doing. Therefore, everyone is always avoiding doing something and putting some errand or work off. Because of this, people should be knowledgeable on how to procrastinate well.

For example, many people procrastinate by doing nothing (or rather, surfing the internet and playing video games; this will be called type-one procrastination.) This is the negative type of procrastination that most people refer to when giving advice on how to stop putting work off. Also, some people procrastinate by doing errands, or work of lower importance, putting off large projects for later. This is also negative, but less so, as these types of procrastinators are still doing work (type-two procrastination.) Finally, there are those who procrastinate on the small “errands” mentioned before by doing large projects. In the end, these procrastinators end up doing small assignments last-minute, but get the best score on large assessments (type-three procrastination.) In order to be a successful procrastinator, people must use all three types of procrastination stated above.

For the first type of procrastination (the “doing nothing” type,) people usually put off work because they aren’t interested in doing the subject of their procrastination (often work or chores.) Using this time, while they’re not working, they investigate or spend effort into their hobbies, and also spend time playing sports, social networking, playing games, reading, etc. Also, while they aren’t doing work, many people also enjoy social time and relax with others. When postponing work, type-one procrastination is considered the most enjoyable method of spending one’s time; it allows people to become less stressed and have fun. However, it’s not very productive or efficient, so if one wishes to procrastinate in a positive way, one should rarely do this type of procrastination.

Next, the second type of procrastination is characterized by delaying the completion of important work in order to do assignments of less importance or errands. This type of procrastination is usually done when a person focuses on work according to its due date, leaving the work for projects or large tests for later (as the date is further in the future, they disregard the work, thinking that they can just finish it later.) When using type-two procrastination, the work being done includes doing small homework assignments, easier chores or housework, studying for tests that are immediately coming up, etc. Doing this leads to a feeling of false success, as work (albeit meaningless work) is being done. However, the more important (and usually harder) work is eventually left unfinished. Due to this type of procrastination, people complete homework, but cram large projects or studying for exams, which affect their grade more than the homework. This ultimately makes their overall grade worse, as they don’t do well on the more significant assignments. Consequently, if one wishes to do well through procrastination, one should do type-two procrastination only occasionally.

Finally, the third type of procrastination is shown when people complete more important work while putting off smaller assignments or errands. When a person prioritizes the importance of the work they’re doing rather than the due date (as with type-two procrastination,) they begin to work on larger projects before less crucial, albeit more immediate, homework assignments. This means that type-three procrastinators would probably work on their Personal Project, Extended Essays, studying for exams, or other projects before doing homework of less significance. By doing this, people often score higher on tests and assessments that have a larger impact on their grades. Although they do cram and complete homework assignments of less significance last minute, this is the most positive form of procrastination. Because of the ease of smaller homework assignments, type-three procrastinators often complete them correctly, even when doing them last minute. Type-three procrastination is by far the most efficient, and should be used often (but not always) to be a successful procrastinator.

In order to make sure one does well while procrastinating, one must use type-three procrastination most, while still keeping balanced by occasionally using type-two procrastination, and only rarely use type-one procrastination. By balancing the three types of procrastination, one can achieve good grades while staying unstressed. Overall, procrastination, although often viewed as negative, is inevitable, so one should strive to be as efficient as possible through having good procrastination habits.