“This Was Supposed
to Be My Column for New Year’s Day,” By John Tierney
This
article, although not at all revealed by its title, is about the idea that
procrastinating can actually be beneficial for people, rather than a
detrimental aspect of a person. The author starts by explaining how he always
meant to publish a New Year’s Day column for a resolution on “The Power of
Positive Procrastination,” but “January 15th is close enough,” hence
the title. Next, the article goes into a researcher of the topic, Dr. John
Perry, who is a philosopher at Stanford. In his published book, he explains how
procrastination is beneficial when structured. The main idea is that a person,
when confronted with a to-do list will often procrastinate on the highest
priorities, but decide on working on the lower topics. From this, Dr. Perry
proposed that procrastination is useful when one puts almost impossible tasks
at the top of their lists, so he or she will actually do their normal work that
they would otherwise procrastinate on. In other words, anyone can do any amount
of work, provided it is not the work he or she is supposed to be doing at that
moment.
This
article highly connected to myself, and can be a guideline to many
procrastinators. Throughout high school, I have realized that procrastination
runs rampant in many students, including myself. Who can say they have not
spent at least one night staying up to work on an essay or project or study for
a test? From Dr. Perry’s research, it can be possible to utilize
procrastination itself. This idea is clearly beneficial for any person who
tends to procrastinate. I know I will be able to use Dr. Perry’s proposal to
help myself work better in school, as well as work better in general.
I
only had a few problems with this article. One issue I found was that the
author only references Dr. Perry, and does not include any other researchers.
It would be interesting to hear from other researchers what they think and/or
have discovered. Also, since the author chose to focus on Dr. Perry, it would
have been nice to know more background on the doctor himself, like what got him
into researching such an abstract idea. Other than this, I thought the article
was written nicely.
The review of “This Was Supposed to Be My Column for New Year’s Day” was detailed and concise. One aspect of the review that was well represented was that the reviewer mentions Dr. John Perry and his published book about procrastination. It was also good that the reviewer mentioned the idea of Dr. Perry in which he insinuates that procrastination can be useful in getting work accomplished. I also thought it was good that the reviewer showed his own personal connection with the habit of procrastination and compared it to those of many high school students.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that could have been mentioned in the article was the statistics of the study conducted by Dr. John Perry. The fact that out of 24,000 people around the world, 95% percent of them at least occasionally procrastinate, is important. Also, it would be beneficial to add that studies show that the changing nature of the workplace is a reason for the increase in procrastination.
I found this article interesting and thought that it was pretty crazy to learn that so many people in the world face the habit of procrastination. I procrastinate way too much and often find that it forces me to get my work done, even if it is at the last minute. Dr. Perry’s proposal was pretty interesting and would be worth trying out. Overall, the article and review were interesting and important.
I thought Thomas’ review of “This was supposed to be my Column for New Year’s Day” was very informative and interesting. One thing I learned through this review is “structured procrastination”. This phenomenon defends people who are supposedly guilty of procrastination. The review even stated that this procrastination is not bad; it just is a different way of getting things done. I also learned that a researcher from Stanford named John Perry promotes people to procrastinate since it is useful when one puts almost impossible tasks at the top of their lists, so he or she will actually do their normal work that they would otherwise procrastinate on.
ReplyDeleteI thought the review could have mentioned more about the statistics of procrastination since it is interesting to here. I also think that it could have mentioned more about the researcher and his research.
Overall I was very intrigued by this article since it made me think about procrastination and whether it actually can be used to one’s advantage. If this theory is indeed true, many people would greatly benefit by following Perry’s method.
In my opinion Thomas’s review of “This was supposed to be my Column for New Year’s Day” was incredibly informative and also very concise. I appreciated the way Thomas backed up his statements with information from Dr. John Perry of Stanford and his research in the realm of procrastination. I also thought it was interesting that Thomas presented procrastination in a positive light, considering it only a different many of approaching work, despite the fact that procrastination is commonly viewed in a negative light, especially by educators. I also appreciated Thomas’s take on procrastination t the high school level, something that both he and I are very aware of. I would have appreciate it if Thomas had included some statistics to back up the statements made by either him or Dr. Perry as that would have enhanced the credibility of his argument. I also think that Thomas should have included a little more information about Dr. Perry’s research. Although he presented an adequate amount, I feel that I would have gained more had there been more evidence from a source as credible as Dr. Perry. I thought this review was incredibly interesting because I have a tendency to procrastinate and it was comforting to hear that my way of doing things may not be the wrong, just an alternative route to a similar end.
ReplyDeleteAP Biology Petey DeJoy
ReplyDeleteComment Review 1/16/13
Thomas did a very good job with his review of “This Was Supposed to be My Column for New Year’s Day”. There were a few aspects of his review that were particularly well presented. First, he did a good job explaining from the start that the title of the article does not reveal its content. This was good because the title put me off at first, as I did not know what the review would be about. Second, he appeals to me, a fellow procrastinator, and writes in a way that is relevant to my lifestyle. Finally, he does a very good job explaining the critical idea that procrastination can be good, if done in a certain context. There were a few things that I would have done differently with this review, however. First, I would have probably given some examples as to what kind of things to put at the top of your to-do list, the things that the article mentions are “impossible to do”. Second, I would have mentioned more about procrastination statistics. From this article, I learned that procrastination can be good if done the right way, a thing that I found very interesting, because I always procrastinate on my work.
Thomas’ article review, focusing on procrastination, drew me in from the very first sentence. Teachers and parents, amongst others are constantly pushing their children and students to always stay focused, remain hungry, and avoid procrastination at all means! It is an issue that all of us have, and for some reason, I feel like I have been procrastinating now, just prior to midterm week, more than I ever have before. It’s ironic because this is the time of year that I clearly should be the most studious and dedicated to my academics. I love Thomas’ integration of the quote explaining how John Tierney, the author, meant to publish this article on New Years Day, but “January 15th is close enough.” From the start, I could tell that this was my kind of article. Thomas makes this review enjoyable to read and it isn’t mined with advanced technological terms that would confuse the readers. Thomas presents the main idea of the article and does not include unnecessary, surplus information.
ReplyDeleteThomas could have improved his article review through making his summary more detailed, especially when providing background information on Dr. John Perry, and his ideas and work surrounding procrastination. I would like to know more about the basis of his published book, in which he argues the positive, beneficial effects procrastination can have. I just feel like there is no supporting evidence or analysis backing up the premise of Perry’s beliefs. This is the only main concern I have. However, another thing Thomas could have done, which would have been going “above and beyond,” so to speak, is he could have researched others who are also studying procrastination and stated some similarities and differences in their opinions or research.
I was impressed with Thomas’ connection to himself and especially schoolwork. We are always confronted with loads of work and come to think of it, if I did all of my work sooner rather than later, I would be a much more productive, and successful student. There are few people that have the ability to sit down and flat out study for hours and hours on end, however, they do exist, and these people are gifted.
Samantha Past
ReplyDelete1/18/13
The review Thomas wrote pertaining to the article, “This Was Supposed to Be My Column for New Year’s Day” written by John Tierney begins by analyzing the title of the article. This aspect of the review caught my attention because out of all the reviews I have previously read this year I do not recall anyone else beginning their review by discussing or examining the reason to which the article was entitled what it was. This aspect of his review very nicely began his piece of work regarding the article. Another aspect of his review that was particularly well presented was how succinct his argument and summary of the article was. Within his review, Thomas showed he had a clear understanding regarding the main point of the article and therefore shared that focus with the reader. A final aspect of his review I found to be particularly well presented was the way Thomas connected the article to himself. I liked how he stated he recognized the problem of procrastination within himself, as well as other students around him, and how the article he read/ reviewed will hopefully help him to turn is procrastination into a source of efficiency.
Although the reviewer did a nice job of simplifying and therefore expressing the main goal of the article, perhaps if Thomas included a little more detail/ information presented in the article, the reader would have gained a little more knowledge with regards to procrastination. For example, if Thomas had included information presented in the article such as the description of “productive procrastination” or “structured procrastination” the reader may have gained a broader sense of knowledge regarding the main issue of procrastination. Another aspect of the review that may have been made even better is if the reviewer had included direct quotes from the article. If Thomas had quoted Dr. Perry or Robert Benchley or Dr. Steel, I believe the review would have been greatly enhanced. The specific quotes from such prominent people regarding this topic would have enriched the review as a whole, as such quotes enrich the article itself.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this article, as I found it to be extremely interesting. Throughout the article while containing scientific facts/ evidence the author also includes a sense of humor and keeps the reader engrossed. The arguments the author of the article presented were on point and easy to follow. The article on the whole was easy and fun to read, and I commend Thomas for finding such an attention-grabbing piece of work.
Thomas's review of the article "This Was Supposed to Be My Column for New Year’s Day" was entertaining and fun. The article that he discusses is a method of utilizing procrastination into a stable work ethics. This is done when a person puts an impossible task on the list of priorities, that person will procrastinate by less important work. Thus, though he may look like he is procrastinating, he is actually performing the same amount of work as he would have done normally without procrastination. This helpful tip would help us AP Biology students cope up with the workload we have. I also enjoyed the humorous and honest tone of the review.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is questionable if this article actually has scientific significance. For instance, the proposer of this idea, Dr. John Perry, is not a scientist; he is a philosopher. Thus, I highly doubt that this tip was discovered through an actual scientific experiment with all the appropriate steps. It looks like a how-to tip that may be helpful but really has no place in this blog.
Since this article was not scientific in its nature, there was really nothing to be impressed about. It was amusing, however, to know that procrastination can be utilized to promote better work habits. This is a lesson that I will take with me as I progress into senior year.