7:00 PM. You got this project two weeks ago; why didn’t you start it earlier? Just one more episode. 8:00 PM. You get to your desk and turn on the computer. You open a new document. It’s so sparse, empty. What to write… You’ll think about it while watching another episode. 9:00 PM. “The Pyramids of Egypt…” You think to yourself, “Planning is half the effort. I’ll come back after a snack. A smoothie sounds good.” 10:00 PM. You stare at the screen. The words blend together. Maybe after a nap. You set your phone alarm for 30 minutes. 10:45 PM. Snooze. 11:00 PM. Snooze. 11:15 PM. “... are one of the Seven Wonders of the World.” You figure that your brain will type faster in the morning. You set your alarm for 6:00 AM and go to bed.


6:00 AM. Just 15 more minutes. Snooze. 6:15. You think, “You know what, I can finish this in Lunch. I work best under pressure.” You set your alarm back to 7:30 and go back to bed.


11:30 AM. Lunch. The problem is, today in lunch you and some friends are having a picnic outside on the school lawn. Computers are not allowed outside. “I have to eat first anyways. I’ll work once I finish this sandwich.” 12:00 PM. 15 minutes left in the period. Topic paragraph: Finished. First body Paragraph: Finished. Ding, ding. Hopefully it’s a work day in Biology so you can work on your writing. It isn’t.


1:00 PM. English Class. Excuses: The Power went out. No. I wasn’t here when you announced it. No. I had a speech tournament until 10 last night. No. What can you say, what can you say? The teacher comes to your desk. “Where is your essay?” In the heat of the moment, the only thing you can utter is the first thing that comes to your mind. “The dog ate it.”


“Class, today I’m assigning another essay due two weeks from now.”