“I don’t procrastinate and it’s not hard. I don’t find myself wanting to procrastinate,” said Angel Gonzalez (12). He may be one of only a few Englewood students who feel that way.

There are many tools students and teachers use to stop themselves from procrastinating. Students here at EHS admit they tend to procrastinate a lot on their school work when they get home from school. Why do people put off hard work?

Some say it is fear of failure, fear of success, or fear of losing autonomy. Students like to show they are in charge saying, “I won’t do this” or “you can’t make me do this.”

One sophomore admits she does get off track sometimes. Stormie Martinez (10) says she needs a nudge in the right direction, “I get off task a lot and if I see something more fun, I’ll put my homework to the side.”

She says it takes a lot to get refocused and has to move away from other students, “I remove myself from everyone and focus on what I do and try to motivate myself to get my work done. I listen to music that calms me down and makes me focus and try to stay off my phone and so that I won’t try to be distracted. I go to my room and close my door.”

Counselor Mary Abbott says she helps students stay motivated but doesn’t always stay on task herself, “I believe that I procrastinate on the thing that I don’t want to do and that is hard for me I put them off at the end.”

It leads to regret, “Sometimes I might use other people to keep my focus and reduce the distractions.”

She explains that students come to her about their homework that is not due until the following week and they get it done at the last minute, “I always encourage students to do the project ahead of time and nine times out of ten don’t procrastinate it just get it done and you will feel better in the long run.”