With New Year’s resolutions still on everyone’s minds, ending the habit of procrastination is one of the most popular resolutions year after year. Just like most New Year’s resolutions, ending a habit of procrastination seems, ironically, to be the thing put off by many. Procrastination may not be a medical condition, but its detrimental effects make it seem like one of the worst things to be diagnosed with. 

Students and people all around the world fall victim to the constant habit of postponing activities. People can procrastinate on anything, no matter how large or small. For example, one might procrastinate getting out of bed in the morning, or a student might procrastinate on a homework assignment or even a project. As distractions grow, the tendency to procrastinate grows as well. Social media such as TikTok and Instagram combined with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu make it so easy to stop working and participate in a more enjoyable activity. 

Procrastination hits everybody differently, and in differing severity, but, nevertheless, it is dangerous. Leaving tasks until the night before or trying to fight the clock and turn in an assignment on time because of a due date is not healthy. It breeds unnecessary stress, especially when the situation is avoidable. It is so easy to look at an assignment and choose not to do it because it’s not due for a week or a month. Even for activities without a due date, the cycle of procrastination can still be dangerous. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone who ever had an idea acted upon it instead of hesitating; it would be a night and day difference. 

The COVID-19 pandemic may have ended, but procrastination is still a pandemic that plagues everybody, leaving behind perilous effects, easily distracted students, and lazy people in its wake.