Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Editorial: Procrastination Pays Off...Literally

If you didn't see last week's Newsday article about Caroline Trezza, a senior at Roslyn High School who won $35,000 for her research project on procrastination, you missed quite a story.

Did you ever wonder why students, or people in general, procrastinate? Well, I did and I came to the conclusion that procrastination is either caused by laziness or just a result of a busy schedule.

How much money do I get for my hypothesis? Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

Caroline Trezza, on the other hand, won $35,000 for her research project on why students procrastinate. Trezza, a Roslyn High School senior, surveyed 168 sophomores and juniors at her school, asking them about their study habits, schedules, and even their self-confidence.

Okay, so her conclusion goes much deeper into the matter than my one-line statement above. In fact, the 17-year-old found that confidence in teens led to less procrastination in their school work. She also discovered that completing tasks on time is a habit that should be instilled in students at a young age.

Trezza, who was named a second-place winner in the National Young Epidemiology Scholars contest, has quite a busy schedule herself. Not only has she been working on this research project and going to school, Trezza is also the editor-in-chief of her high school yearbook. However, she is human. Trezza did tell Newsday that she sometimes, like many other students, finds it hard to start assignments as well.

There is one thing I think Trezza's research project didn't include. Technology. The technology of today adds so many other distractions that lead to procrastination. Although I don't have any problems with this issue. Yes, I've been writing this with the television on in the background and multi-tasking on the web. But it hasn't affected my focus.

Yeah, right.

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