In the caverns of our minds, where thoughts become shadowy and sometimes lost, the second voice speaks to us. Unfortunately for our essay deadlines, stress levels and quality of life, this voice tends to transcend the first. It’s loud, rash, and devious. It demands ‘listen to me’ and you find yourself complying. Your three thousand word essay, which you haven’t started yet, can wait… because all of a sudden, you need to wash the dishes. You need to check Facebook. You need to watch that episode of Entourage you missed last night because you will never, ever get a chance to watch it again. We lure ourselves into these predicaments and once we reach the point of no return, the same thought is always there… “why didn’t I do this when I actually had time?”

There are three main types of procrastinators. The first is a ‘thrill-seeker’, someone who waits till the last minute because they like walking the narrow ledge of failure. Next are the ‘avoiders’, those who are afraid of failure or even success. Finally, there are the ‘decisional procrastinators’, those annoyingly indecisive people that find making decisions the most difficult task in the world. Considering we are university students, procrastination strolls hand in hand with assignments, essays, applications, or anything else that involves writing your name and matriculation number at the top of the page. Sarah Jones, an Edinburgh Philosophy student, exclaims ‘I always leave my assignments to the last minute... It’s just my work ethic, I guess.’ It is found that 20% of us are self-proclaimed procrastinators and 95% procrastinate now and again. Images of friends spooning themselves instant coffee powder from a jar while sipping Redbull between bites is enough to make anyone promise themselves never to put anything off again.

So, is there any hope of breaking this destructive habit? It seems that procrastination cannot be cured with a snap of the fingers or wave of a wand. "Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up," urges Dr. Ferrari, associate professor of psychology at De Paul University, Chicago. You need to start with baby steps: Make a prioritized list of what you need to get done today. Schedule some reward time for yourself after you complete a task. Alter your expectations: avoid the words should and must when you are setting your aims for an assignment. Or, if you’re feeling daring, follow Nike’s example and just do it.