Category: Unit 1.5: Difficulty Paper – “Later” (Page 5 of 20)

Gabriella Leon

After rereading “Later” by James Surowiecki nothing changed at all I still found majority of the texting boring and irritating. It included a lot of research that is only vouches for the perspective of a watcher but i don’t feel like it really included the thoughts of a procrastinator which defeats the purpose of explaining the possible reasons procrastination happens.The paper seemed like it was trying to say people who procrastinate are weak A specific part that didn’t really make sense to me was towards the end of the text when it mentions the opinion of who is said to be “General George Mclellan,who led the army of Potomac during the early years of the civil war”. It shouldn’t be accurate to use the opinion of an Army general considering they have basically formed their lives around making tough decisions,they are molded in a strict lifestyle vs other people who truly have free will vs what they are forced to live their lives by. apparently Mclellan thinks that , “Lack of Confidence,sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success,often leads to procrastination are self handicappers:rather than risk failure,they prefer to create conditions that make success impossible, a reflex that of course creates a vicious cycle” . This is a perfect example of how he is trying to imply that people are making procrastination seem like a weakness trait saying they’re making up excuses as to why they’re not successful and its just plain insensitive and Judge mental. Further more in the text its also mentioned that Mclellan stated, ” In that sense, the first step to dealing with procrastination isn’t admitting that you have a problem .It’s admitting that your “you’s” have a problem” This seems like more of a hot take and judgement of people who usually go through procrastination.Ultimately my point still stands. Why is the General so persistent in saying its a self inflicted issue and that’s all there is to it when that isn’t necessarily true. Procrastination is seen so negatively but personally i feel differently about that. I use procrastination as a form of work motivation.Waiting until the last few moments forces the creativity out of you.In my opinion,feel like everybody should just do what works best for them instead of belittling others for what works for them

When rereading later, my thoughts on it changed a little. i went through the text with not having as many issues as the first time but most importantly i understood it better. and even enjoyed it better. i still let out a couple of yawns but not as much as the first time. i picked out information that i skipped right over the first time. i found it interesting when they were trying to find a reason of why people chose the 100 dollars today instead of 110 dollars if the wait an extra day but  then when said to wait a month for 100 dollars or wait a month and a day for 110 dollars, they chose the 110, they said an explanation for this might be ignorance and i didn’t even pick this up when i read it for the first time. I also  noticed that the text stated “but as the present gets closer  short term considerations overwhelm their long term goal.” which i also found interesting because on how valid it is. i honestly found the text more interesting and noticed a lot more. i realized that that the first time i read this i just went through it without closely reading but at the same time i felt unfamiliar with the text and put it in my head that i wouldn’t understand it because we were ought to see the things we disliked about it. but rereading it also made me enjoy it better since i already had a chance to read it and get a grip on what it would intel. i was also surprised on how much things i didn’t get the first time i felt like rereading it i got everything and it was not the hard to understand i felt so lost reading it the first time but now i got it. i understood way better.

After getting the chance to reread the article ‘Later,’ I don’t think my feelings change, but my mindset regarding the subject has. Rereading it has allowed me to walk into the article already knowing the topic and understanding the key components to look for. This time, I was able to gain more information than the first time around. I caught onto things that I struggled with before.

I still dislike the format of the article and the way it was set up, but I have to credit the author for the information given in the article. The article holds knowledge and truth for someone looking to expand their mind not only around the educational system but also in terms of things to add to the way you structure yourself for the world. I now understand the limitations procrastination can put on your life. At the end of the day, you can be your biggest enemy, and it will only affect you in the ways you let it. Getting over procrastination isn’t easy; it’s a part of almost everything we do. We question our time and whether we can even complete a task, all just to end up rushing it or failing to do it at the last minute. But I think taking the steps to better yourself as an individual will help you in the long run.

In the article, the author speaks about the seriousness of procrastination, using adults and taxes as examples to explain the number of adults who file their taxes late. There is no transition in mindset, and I think it becomes even harder to change it as an adult rather than as a regular teenager. The time we have now should be used to override and overcome the bad behavioral habits we have installed in us before it becomes too late.