A Master at Procrastination!
The TED Talk, “Inside the mind of a master procrastinator,” given by Tim Urban, is one I find very intriguing. After watching and listening closely to Urban’s informative talk, I felt moved and as if he was speaking directly to me, given that, and I’ll admit, I am one heck of a procrastinator!
This speaker provides great detail, explanation, and visual aid in support of the message being portrayed and keeping the audience engaged wanting to know more. Urban brought to my attention his idea of an “instant gratification monkey,” along with a “rational-decision maker,” and discusses the unique relationship these two share. When the “rational-decision maker” wants to get many tasks on this week’s To-Do List checked off, the “instant gratification monkey” doesn’t even want to acknowledge that there is such a list.
To be honest, I don’t think I have ever related to an illustration like this one more in my life. To say the least, this image accurately describes the way I find my brain working. I continuously wait until the last second — okay, that’s a bit dramatic. How about, the last 24 hours, to start working on whatever it is because of this exact problem. I am someone who gets distracted very easily and way too often, so yeah, I would say I definitely have a monkey up there!
Like I said, I felt moved and as if Urban was speaking directly to me after watching this video. To show how I can relate this TED Talk back to myself, I’ll demonstrate to you something I go through way too often. Let’s say I just brought myself to look over a big assignment that is due at the end of my school week. Instead of taking the time to get a better understanding of what is being asked and asking questions in order to do so, I immediately start telling myself that I am the only one feeling this way. The voice inside my head asks, “why can’t you just do it? what is so hard about it?” As if the rest of my classmates totally know what they are doing and are having no trouble at all. I then avoid the assignment and leave it sitting there as a lonely, open tab on my laptop. Still without a clear explanation, the time comes that I have to once again attempt the task and actually get it turned in before oh god, the four digits that taunt me — 11:59.
Overall, it is noticeable that I fall under the category of being a part of Urban’s intended audience and that his TED Talk offered to me much knowledge on what comes with putting things off. Urban made me realize that I am not alone in the world of procrastination, and that my fellow classmates and the fellow students at my school are most likely feeling the same way. And I am certainly not the only one who finds themself on the verge of an anxiety attack and performing stress coping mechanisms. This talk is extremely enlightening, valuable, and brought much needed awareness to this habit.
