Melhuish Speech 10

The following is the winning Grade 10 speech winner in this year’s Melhuish Speaking Contest. Don't you just hate having free time? Wouldn’t you prefer to be doing homework than, I don't know, anything else? Probably not: it's human nature to put off unwanted tasks till stress kicks you into overdrive and most people feel ashamed about that, that it's a “bad idea”, but I’m here to teach you how to harness your laziness and become a master procrastinator, like me. I know you’re probably thinking this is some type of joke, or some way to make myself feel better for my lazy tendencies, but it’s not, at least not entirely. There are three main reasons why I want you to try my way of life: 1) Procrastination makes you more creative 2) Unnecessary tasks are rooted out, and 3) It’s easier. Procrastination makes you more creative both consciously and subconsciously. Too often people will sit down to work without any clear idea of what they are actually going to do. This leads to things like writer’s block or work that isn’t as clever as you truly want it to be. Many authors will have some sort of schedule where they won’t write for the week and think up ideas for their story and jot them down. Then on the weekend they can get out more and better work then they would have sat down every day without a clear plan. While procrastinating, your subconscious is still going through a similar process and when you begin your task you’ll have an assortment of different ways to start and the best path will be much more clear to you. Secondly, procrastination can boil down the confusing muddle of life and show you what really matters to you. Everyone has days where their to-do list is larger than the time it takes to finish it; this is when this part of procrastination kicks in. After procrastinating on something for a while, you might look at it and not remember why it was on your to do list in the first place and it could be that it's not even necessary or relevant to you anymore. Sometimes it can reveal that what you're working on is the wrong thing. This helps to do things like pick your job and decide what you want to do for the future. Finally, the last reason and the reason that’s most important to me: it’s easier. Modern Society is too stuck up with the constant hustle and bustle that sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back and a breath in. I know it seems counter-productive that when you’re under immense stress that you should just put it off, but sometimes it’s the only sane answer. Nobody enjoys stress and being under it for long periods of time can feel abusive. That’s why it’s important to take time to do the things you love and clear your mind before getting back to working, and besides: it’s peaceful at 3:00 in the morning. Overall procrastination gets a bad rep not because it’s entirely bad, but because lazy people procrastinate badly and don’t get their work done. If you procrastinate well and follow the strategies given, it can be beneficial in the long run. Liam P, Whittall ‘19 2:50 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6hbpUGsmk4