[{ "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle CC01 - 300x250", "id": "AdMediumRectangleCC01300x250", "class": "inlineCenter", "insertPoint": "8", "component": "2963441", "requiredCountToDisplay": "12" },{ "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle LC01 - 300x250", "id": "AdMediumRectangleCC01300x250", "class": "inlineCenter", "insertPoint": "18", "component": "2963441", "requiredCountToDisplay": "22" },{ "name": "Ad - Medium Rectangle LC09 - 300x250", "id": "AdMediumRectangleLC09300x250", "class": "inlineCenter", "insertPoint": "28", "component": "3252660", "requiredCountToDisplay": "32" }]
It’s a bit difficult to describe the joyous freedom completed finals bring you when the reality of the situation is they’ve only just begun their beating you senseless into a tight corner. Particularly difficult is the achievement of this task without diving into a sort of daydreaming dangerous for someone who, above all else, must remain on task. Cal Poly students might take the opportunity to shake their heads and cluck their tongues in comfortable pity of the terrified Cuesta Cougars, but, like a promising trailer for a Hollywood Disaster movie or 3-D Sonic the Hedgehog video game, this, too, is merely a desperate illusion conjured through severe denial of what we know is actually in store for us.
Still, by the time these words escape the printed page, the horror of that week shall have ended for Cuesta College, so allow me to try and offer something from this position.
Mustangs, I recognize that your even attending your university is generally a sign that you’re doing SOMETHING right, but as your own finals approach, you might be wise to follow the following advice:
Work in a library. Unplug yourself from your Internet, and work in a library.
If you can, force yourself into a situation that will force YOU to stay on task, because if, like me, you have a dangerous taste for procrastination, your brain will do whatever it can to avoid the task at hand. I know the new YouTuber you discovered is a blast to watch, and his videos are only eight to 20 minutes long, but that’s exactly the problem. You’ll be having one more potato chip more times than even you will be capable of realizing, and, before you know it, it will be time to hop on the bus for a final you could have spent the day preparing for. It’s an awful feeling.
Something else I’d like to say on that subject: Procrastination doesn’t make you a bad person. I am a firm believer that, in high enough doses, it becomes a legitimate addiction, and it’s not entirely your fault if you have a hard time shying away. But that’s exactly why you need to try all the harder to break free, and even ask a friend for help if you can. We’ve all had our moments of “just five more minutes,” and we like to forget just how awful it feels to realize you’ve just said that to yourself 24 times in a row.
New Times contributor Chris White-Sanborn hopes his stress levels will have lowered a bit by the time he holds this in his hands. Send collegiate news to [email protected].