With the semester winding down, I found myself in a situation this weekend that I’m sure at least a few other students on campus will experience. With just two weeks of class left before finals, I found several deadlines for class assignments had caught up with me.

A 10-page political science paper, an in-depth article for an advance composition class, greeting prospective students for the journalism department at this weekend’s open house and making some time to see my sister when she came to town Saturday were among the laundry list of assignments and other obligations I had to fulfill.

I’m sure other students have, or will go through the same type of hectic schedule. Students before me have made it through the semester’s end and students after me will get through it.

But who is to blame for weekends like the one I just went through? Is it the fault of those mean, old, stodgy professors who are out to prevent their students from having a social life?

No.

Is it poor timing?

No.

The blame belongs squarely on myself.

All the assignments I needed to work on this weekend were assignments I could have and should have worked on weeks, even months ago. Procrastination is my worst enemy.

During spring break, I planned to work on the 10-page paper I already mentioned. I did work on it some, but I was hoping to have at least a couple pages written back in March, but the lure of sleeping in and doing nothing was far too strong. This was followed by last weekend’s attempts to work on the paper. While most of my roommates and the campus went home to spend Easter with their family, I stayed in lovely Charleston to work. That Friday, I got sucked in by a thrilling 15-inning Cubs-Braves game. Needless to say, none of my paper was written that night, but at least the Cubs won. The next day I spent with a friend whose family was kind enough to invite me over for an Easter dinner. The meal was good, but I only had a few pages written when I got back.

I’m not that upset I have to give up some sleep to get some work done. The key to procrastination is making sure you did something you enjoyed. I enjoyed sleeping in during spring break, I enjoyed the Cubs game, I enjoyed the Easter dinner at my friend’s house.

Don’t just put off what needs to be done because you don’t want to do it. If you put off work to do something you will have fun doing, you will be a lot happier when the work absolutely must get done. If you just killed time instead of getting work done, you will kick yourself for not getting it done. But if you had fun while you were toiling the night away to get work done, you can at least say you had fun.

The next time you need to get some work done and an episode of “Newlyweds” comes on MTV, turn off the TV because the work will need to get done and that episode of “Newlyweds” will be on again and again and again.