Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Senioritis
I'm sure as a senior in high school I am a bit younger than those of you who might be reading this, but you also may be the most helpful since you have already been through this stage in your life. I am a chronic procrastinator in terms of school and I have been experiencing some major premature "Senior Slump". I have gotten by during the past four years with a lot of homework between classes, paper extensions, and showing up late for tests so I can take them later.
Every few months there is a significant slip in my grades when all of this procrastination catches up to me, which usually results in a progress report being sent home and a night of tears and disppointed parents. I feel remorse immediately following, but eventually slip back into my old habits and forget how awful I felt for taking for granted the opportunities my parents have worked to give me and the money they are spending to send me to private school.
Tonight was by far the worst. I came home to find my mother sobbing at the kitchen table because two of my teachers called during the day to tell her I was failing their classes. My parents have sacrificed so much for me to get a great education, and I'm flushing it all down the toilet, and I can't stop. Some nights I sit and stare a blank Word document, unable to write anything. My mother told me that she's never been more disappointed in me and left in the middle of cooking dinner, and she just got home (it is 11). This semester was when I was supposed to get my act together and pull up my GPA after a mediocre junior year, but now I am falling even further into this black hole and jeopardizing getting into college at all. I know these problems may seem petty, since nothing in my life has become seriously undone, but I am ruining my relationship with my parents, while simultaneously making myself feel more and more worthless every day.
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procrastination in high school
Hi bmorgan,
Welcome! I did the same thing in high school that you did, and then I did it in college, and then I did it in my jobs. I waited until I was middle-aged before I started to take this problem seriously enough to really work at it, and by that time I had already suffered some very serious consequences from it.
The best advice I can give you is to take this problem very seriously now, while you are young. Your mother is criticizing you because she thinks this is under your control and you could just stop procrastinating if you decided to. As you and I well know, that is not the case. I'd suggest that you ask her to let you see a therapist to help you work on the problem. Tell her you know you have a problem and you need help. The kind of procrastination you are dealing with isn't just "rebellious teenager" stuff - it's compulsive avoidance, and it will follow you your whole life if you don't deal with it directly.
>I know these problems may seem petty, since nothing in my life has become seriously undone, but I am ruining my relationship with my parents, while simultaneously making myself feel more and more worthless every day.
I don't think this is one bit petty - it's dead serious. I started off like you, and I know where it goes. You are very lucky that you are starting to deal with this head on while you are so young. Don't do what I did and wait until you do have serious consequences.
I understand the feelings of worthlessness, but try not to go there. You just have a problem you need to deal with. With the help of this forum and a therapist, you will overcome it.
Good luck, and please keep posting. There are many articles on the site that you may find helpful to read (click the Articles button at the top of the Web site). You also may want to join us in bookending, which is a very helpful tool. There is more information about that here.