Joe Royzman, Period 7, 11/07/2022

Forget spiders, roller coasters, or heights: by far the most fear-inducing part of my recent life has been deadlines. The primary conflict I’ve been faced with is battling college applications. The looming deadline date - it seems to grab you by the wrist and squeeze harder with each passing day. The juggling of school work, personal & social life/hobbies, with the seemingly eternal grind of writing essays has challenged me in unforeseen ways. To compensate, I’ve adopted certain standards that allow me to approach these challenges with a plan in mind.

Procrastination is a plague. Having accepted myself as a master of the act, I plan accordingly. I learned to evaluate the urgency of my tasks at hand, and streamline my attention towards what I deem primary. I began completing assignments earlier than is required - or at least I try.  Instead of pushing back an assignment for the day it's due, I prefer to jump on it and complete what I can. I learned to re-allot time normally dedicated to hobbies to essay writing. Taking time away from personal fulfillment activities has been tough. Min-maxing the time I spend between leisurely activities and work has become a part of my daily routine. In other words, rather than cutting out hobby-going, I strive to find a somewhat healthy balance. I factor in distractions, the speed at which I work, and various other elements into my timelines. In addition, I recently found that completing work at pleasant locations such as a cafe brings me a peace of mind that permits a more efficient workflow.

Breaking bad habits and developing self-discipline has never been more relevant in my life. To that, I’ve dedicated much of my personal time. It's pushed me to the boundaries of my mental health, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s worth it. Having recently lived a day in the life of a college student, I was exposed to the realities of college/adult workloads. In my mind, the earlier I build a lucrative work ethic, the more successful I’ll be in future endeavors. This knowledge fuels my resilience.