Last Minute Syndrome

Now this is not a scientifically proven condition, so don’t take my word as fact. But lately in my third year of university, I have looked back on my time keeping record and I can say that it has not been good.

I had a job during the summer before A-levels. I never even made an effort to at least come in 10 minutes early. I am always rushing through the door at the last minute, making a mental note to be early the next time. Same thing happened with the job I had during my gap year.

All the jobs I had were pretty much a close proximity to home. I can cycle or walk, but I have found the greater the distance from home to work, the more you are likely to calculate for unforeseen circumstances and actually leave the house early.

School/University: Assignments, notes, reading, preparation for labs…all done in the last minute.

The question is why and how do we make progress towards solving it.

I think part of it is complacent. You are doing something you probably don’t enjoy and you may have lost the original spark, to the point that you need the pressure of last minute to keep you going. In this case, maybe a bit of inspiration before work, like doing something you enjoy at home in the morning at work. It may be reading the newspaper, a cup of coffee, catching up with the news on your phone or just reading a book. Transferring the location ensures you are not rushing in last minute.

To be quite frank, it seems that when we rush in last minute, we actually do not care. So why torture ourselves. We are given the ideology that, working hard now may be unpleasant but in the future we will get our reward. At least that’s what my mum tells me. We have made the silly assumption that in the future there will be a reward, or there will be a future. I know it’s harsh, but it’s not pessimistic. What if you don’t like the reward or it’s not what you dreamt up to be. This I think is the hardest jump because I think it requires risk taking. We must do something outside our comfort zone. It may even be something that we really love but the idea has been mi-sold.

Life is trial and error. Unless it’s a mathematical algorithm relating to something that never changes, it will go wrong sooner or later. We got to take risks sometimes. It might be a little step, but it could be one in the right direction. As for university students who may have lost their first year fire and are doing other things to cover up the fact that the course is no longer enjoyable and actually feels torturous, look for something to look forward to, surrounding your course. Do something outside yourself. In a world that is all about me, it is sometimes good to stop and do something for free!