You wake up on a cool Tuesday morning with a runny nose, a sore throat,  possibly a fever, and little to no motivation or energy to get out of bed. Ah yes, it’s that time of year again, and it was bound to happen at one point or another. Cold and flu season has arrived. With all the kids back for school it was inevitable.

There seems to be some sort of new “plague” every year, but over the course of my almost four years at Xavier, I have noticed an even stronger epidemic affecting the entire Xavier community. It can strike at any moment or time without you consciously knowing. Not even those with the strongest immune systems can avoid catching this outbreak, and no cure exists to fix the problem. Symptoms include phrases such as, “I’ll finish it later,” or “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and other times, “I’m too tired to do this right now.” You might have guessed it by now, the real problem is procrastination.

I don’t know a single person who has not fallen victim to procrastination and I am well aware that I struggle with it on a daily basis. School is exhausting, and if you are involved in extracurricular activities or work after school, it can be even more draining. The last thing I want to do when I get home is homework and I doubt any of you are speeding back to your house to get it done. The difficult thing with procrastination is that only you have the power to diagnose and treat it. If you find yourself avoiding homework or looking for other things to do besides what you really should be doing, you are a procrastinator. So what are some ways to cure this infectious attitude? 1) Break your work up into smaller, simpler steps. 2) Change your work environments often. 3) Surround yourself with people who motivate you. 4) Finally, don’t make it easy for yourself to procrastinate! Avoid things and places that make you want to put things off. For me, that means putting my phone somewhere out of reach and avoiding making more than one trip to the pantry for snacks after school. Do not let yourself fall victim and help others around you to stay strong too.