Kedzie's Top 10 Ways To Procrastinate

As a means of stepping back from the more serious and emotion-based topics I often find myself blogging, I've decided to write about something that's pertinent to all of us students:

PROCRASTINATION

(Hell, those of you in the real world are probably just as guilty of this as us)

So today I'm going to try and entertain you all with my favorite 10 ways of putting off work. Now, as I write this post I'm going to pretend I don't have an assignment due in two hours, nor do I have a portfolio worth 40% of my semester grade due next week. Hahaha. Oh, college. Ironically, blogging doesn't even make my list!

But anywho... let's get this thing going:

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#10: Peggle

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the word "Peggle," let me warn you... IT'S EVIL! Peggle is what I like to refer to as "computer game crack." Step aside you weirdos hooked on World of Warcraft and other games I have never, and will never, understand - a new era of addictive gaming is on the horizon and it's all thanks to a unicorn named Bjorn.

Peggle is a game like pinball, only... not. Yes, thank you, I'm quite good at making comparisons. The purpose of the game is to shoot a small ball into a mass of pegs - some blue, some orange/red and then two green and one purple. Blues are there basically as distractions because the point of the game is to clear the board of all orange/red pegs before you run out of balls to shoot. You're given 10 at the start of each level and if you do not catch the ball in the bucket at the bottom of the board, you lose it. It sounds complicated, because it is. Actually... it's not. Go play and find out. Do it. Now. Do it. Join us. Do it.

As you beat levels and become more familiar with the game, you unlock more and more unique characters, like Lord Cinderbottom (a dragon...) whom you'll probably fall in love with and accidentally rename (oh, Captain Copperbottom). Each character has special moves that are unlocked by hitting the green pegs, and I assure you, there is nothing more gratifying when you’re putting off a paper than watching your screen light up from Splork's explosion powers or Tula's pretty flowers. Ahhhhh.... I want to play now. Maybe I'll procrastinate on this blog...

#9: Sleeping

Well this concept doesn't really need much explaining, does it. Sleep... is... good.

But in all seriousness, what a perfect plan to put off work: completely forget about it! I know many of you, like myself, will sit at your desk staring down at your notes, or lay in bed straining your eyes to read, and suddenly you just feel exhausted. You know the feeling: your eyes getting heavy, your pillows calling to you saying "we're so cooooomfy!" Yes, they are. And so you lay down, just for a quick break, and next thing you know it's been three hours and you still haven't completed any work. Oopsy.

The only time sleeping is a no-no is when it completely backfires. You get into bed, ready to drift into a dream world where thesis statements and algorithms don' exist, and the next thing you know you're in the middle of a nightmare that involves your homework. WHAT?! Since WHEN did research papers grow legs, arms and jagged teeth and decide it was fun to chase me down Commonwealth Avenue?

Wait... none of you ever have those dreams? Um... yeah, yeah... neither do I...?

#8: Downloading and Ripping Music

Another perfect plan to avoid our textbooks is through music. But see, I don't just like to sit there and listen, I like to get more and more. Who knows when you're going to throw a party and need some good songs to listen to?

At home, one of my favorite things to do on school nights was to sit with my computer, open up Limewire, Kazaa, or whatever immoral music aggregator I had at the time and search for the best new music. Now that I'm at college, I can't.... But believe me, kiddos, there are ways around the firewalls.

My solutions: ripping music with Zamzar or secretly downloading with Sadsteve.com. It's a lot of fun to go onto youtube, find a song you like and then rip the audio to add to your itunes collection. It sounds techy and hard, but beleive me, it's not. The website makes it so user-friendly. Then there's Sadsteve with its huge library of music, all of which is untraceable for those who decide to download it. B-e-a-utiful.

#7: Twitter

Wait... you don't know what Twitter is? Oh, come on. Catch up, people.
I will be the first to admit that I am an absolute Twitter Junkie, and so that's why it falls into spot number seven on my list of procrastination-enhancers. I will literally leave my room and walk around to find something tweet-worthy when I don't feel like getting my work done.

If you really don't know what Twitter is, perhaps that's for the best. The website has already started to overload and glitch (hello, Twitter staff, get a better server!). But trust me when I say that it feels really good to be able to type up funny moments and thoughts in 140 characters or less whenever you feel like it. Hey, it's not stupid. It isn't. Shush! It's not!

#6: Clean and Organize

Surprised to see this in such a high spot in my top 10 count? I’m not. I don’t think you understand the obsessive qualities I have when it comes to the cleanliness of my workplace. Funny… because those qualities only seem to surface when I don’t actually want to work…

I’ll keep this explanation short: I love reorganizing and cleaning when there’s other work to be done. I feel like even though I’m procrastinating, I’m at least accomplishing something that is considered productive. So what if I vacuumed yesterday? So what if there’s only one piece of clothing on my floor? That stuff needs to be fixed.

#5: Eat

Mmm… perhaps one of the more dangerous ways to avoid homework. I love to eat. Who doesn’t? Food is my friend.

I can’t tell you the number of hours I’ve spent in the dining hall doing work (for real) this year, but whatever that number is, I imagine it’s completely eclipsed by how much time I’ve spent in the dining hall when there was other stuff to get done. Two hour or three hour lunches are normal, right?

Even when I’m in my room, food is always a good distraction. After all, I’ve got an industrial sized box of gold fish sitting on my shelf and it’s near impossible to study on an empty stomach. Nom nom nom.

#4:Work Out

Now, #4 and #5 probably go hand in hand for a reason. I can eat and eat to avoid my assignments, but then I feel guilty and say to myself, “Well, there’s always time to work out!”

From running miles and miles around the city, to crashing Fitrec’s weight room, there’s always plenty to do to get the adrenaline pumping. The problem is, sometimes I’ll want to stay out of my room and away from my books so long I absolutely exhaust myself. Note to my readers: going for a run, followed by lifting, followed by a tennis match is not a good idea.

But on the bright side, being so tired when I get back lets me revert all the way back to the procrastination option I deemed #9: sleep!

#3: Socialize

This one is plain and simple. Stop being a hermit and go out into the world! Some people I know need to do this more than others… cough cough.

What a good way to say “forget you” to your homework. Everyone loves going out with friends, no matter where or what is going on. Some of my favorite escapes include crashing in people’s rooms, laying on the ComLawn (Kate Edgar, this is for you), spending hours on the BU Beach and simply meandering through the city. No matter what you do, being with your friends makes it worth it.

And what’s even better is the fact that you’re all avoiding your studies, so you can complain about it together and not feel like complete academic failures.

#2: Mario Kart 64

This is easily my favorite option for procrastinating but, sigh, it couldn’t take the number one spot. But let’s focus on how spectacular this game is!

Oh, Mario Kart – thank you for retaining your appeal for the past… what, 10 years or so? Those of you who don’t appreciate this game, or never played it, you had some seriously underprivileged childhoods. I will pick Bowser and a couple red shells over Martha Tompson’s Principles of Psychology any day.

What I love about the game so much is that no matter how old I get, I don’t feel stupid for playing it. (Ugh… I know some of you are shaking your head at the screens and calling me a dork…). BUT OH WELL! Many of my friends here at BU will stand by my side and agree that Mario Kart is one of the most entertaining ways to forget about homework, even if it does get a little violent, loud, crazy and competitive.

#1: Facebook

And so, we’ve finally made it. Number one. Numero uno. The biggest, baddest and most addictive way to put off homework, studying, projects or life in general: Facebook.

Yes. A round of applause is necessary.

It may not be my favorite way to procrastinate, but there is no denying Facebook its crown as supreme ruiner of scholarly motivation. We all spend hours on this life-consuming website either browsing, stalking, liking, unliking, tagging, searching, poking, superpoking, friending, bumperstickering, blocking, chatting, updating and whatever else it is we do to pass the time.

Don’t deny it. Facebook is evil, but amazing. I can’t sit here and write a paper without getting bored and checking facebook an insane number of times, nor can I fault the people who purposely lock themselves out of their accounts to “de-tox their lives” from the facebook disease. Oh well, got to love it.

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Well, now that this is done, I suppose I should get to work… I’ll probably check facebook first.

I encourage you all to comment with other ways you enjoying procrastinating so that we can put together a master list. Here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t make my list: blogging, watching tv, watching movies, browsing youtube and plotting revenge.