Today, I'll Stop Pressing The Snooze Button on Life

My diploma says I have degrees in Biology and Spanish, but truth be told the category in which I developed most at SDSU is skill in procrastination. I really mastered procrastination, in fact, I have a self-proclaimed doctorate in the field.

One incident of procastinatory behavior is especially clear in my memory. The episode occurred during the Spring semester of my Junior year. It was 10:00 p.m. on the evening before my first Physiology exam. I was headed upstairs in the Student Union after attending a concert put on by the University Program Council (UPC) that I served on. I ran into thee or four Physiology classmates leaving the Union, and we exchanged casual conversation. They asked me how studying for the exam was going, and I lied that it was going pretty well. When I returned the question, they answered that they had finally finished after a week straight of group study sessions. I smiled and said with fake enthusiasm, “Well, I’m sure it will go really well for you,” and then began to panic. Once I was safely inside the UPC office, I couldn’t think of anything to do but laugh. I grabbed my notes, opened to page one, and began cramming information. By test time, 6:45 a.m., I had finally made it through the slides – one time.

After such a stressful situation, you’d think I would have learned, but that wasn’t my first all-nighter, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. I even started my days procrastinating, because lack of sleep had made it seem virtually impossible to get up without pressing the snooze button at least four times. Comedian Jim Gaffigan shares his thoughts on waking up in the sketch below:

Jim Gaffigan, "Waking Up"

“How many plans has the snooze bar destroyed?” He asks. I can relate. Every time I press snooze, one more morning task gets canceled. Snooze 1: I’ll shower later. Snooze 2: I don’t need breakfast today. Snooze 3: I went to that class once a couple weeks ago, I’m probably pretty caught up. Why do I procrastinate? Because I can. Because I want to fit everything in, and because so far it has worked for me. I always get the task done, and often times I convince myself it’s done better under pressure.

But let’s face it, procrastination isn’t necessarily a healthy lifestyle, so starting today I’ll stop pushing the envelope. Now, I don’t think it would be realistic to eliminate the snooze button all together, those extra 10 minutes are just too glorious, but I’m limiting myself to two snoozes. That might seem small to you, but it will be a major improvement for me. Also, no more pushing the limit on travel time. I know perfectly well that it is impossible to drive across town in less than 10 minutes, but I often convince myself that somehow I’ll be able to drive faster this time, and without fail I’m two minutes late. Starting today I’ll make a conscious effort to start tasks earlier. Starting today, I’ll stop pressing the snooze button on life.