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Description
The Five Stages of Procrastination

1. Unsupported Optimism
This is where the person believes that even though they have a project that was meant to take them a month to complete, they can start and finish it in the few days before the deadline. They are convinced that it will not be too challenging, and should only take a few days of hard work to get through. It is also known in medical circles as ‘Delusion’.

2. Extreme Frustration
In this next stage, the person realizes that the said project or assignment does actually take a long time, and that there was a good reason they were given such a long time to do it in. In some cases this is also where the person realizes that it is actually a lot harder than expected, and now they are, to put it in slang, “screwed”. This leads to the next stage…

3. Long-overdue Desperation
After their anger (at the lecturer, the assignment, and sometimes, even themselves) has cooled down, the person moves into the state of desperation. This involves entertaining thoughts of blatant plagiarism, murder (although no one has yet found a way to murder an assignment), or simply giving up completely. This is generally time spent stressing over the assignment, but not actually doing it.

4. Superficial Depression
Inevitably, the desperation always brings the person to the brink of depression. It is labeled as superficial, however, as it is quickly forgotten when the assignment or project is over. This is the point where the person is now thoroughly convinced that the assignment is impossible, especially in the day or so that is left. It is at this point they will start calculating how their results will look without the marks of this major assignment/project, which generally sinks them slightly lower into this superficial depression. Any mention of it will produce excessive groaning, sighing, or in the more extreme cases, tears.

5. Forced Pragmatism
Finally, in the few remaining hours before the deadline, the person will simply sigh and be happy with their three-quarter-assed results from their half-assed efforts. It’s the practice of the theory of optimization, after all – decent results for minimal effort. And who can complain about that?

Description
The Five Stages of Procrastination

1. Unsupported Optimism
This is where the person believes that even though they have a project that was meant to take them a month to complete, they can start and finish it in the few days before the deadline. They are convinced that it will not be too challenging, and should only take a few days of hard work to get through. It is also known in medical circles as ‘Delusion’.

2. Extreme Frustration
In this next stage, the person realizes that the said project or assignment does actually take a long time, and that there was a good reason they were given such a long time to do it in. In some cases this is also where the person realizes that it is actually a lot harder than expected, and now they are, to put it in slang, “screwed”. This leads to the next stage…

3. Long-overdue Desperation
After their anger (at the lecturer, the assignment, and sometimes, even themselves) has cooled down, the person moves into the state of desperation. This involves entertaining thoughts of blatant plagiarism, murder (although no one has yet found a way to murder an assignment), or simply giving up completely. This is generally time spent stressing over the assignment, but not actually doing it.

4. Superficial Depression
Inevitably, the desperation always brings the person to the brink of depression. It is labeled as superficial, however, as it is quickly forgotten when the assignment or project is over. This is the point where the person is now thoroughly convinced that the assignment is impossible, especially in the day or so that is left. It is at this point they will start calculating how their results will look without the marks of this major assignment/project, which generally sinks them slightly lower into this superficial depression. Any mention of it will produce excessive groaning, sighing, or in the more extreme cases, tears.

5. Forced Pragmatism
Finally, in the few remaining hours before the deadline, the person will simply sigh and be happy with their three-quarter-assed results from their half-assed efforts. It’s the practice of the theory of optimization, after all – decent results for minimal effort. And who can complain about that?