According to the ancient Greek philosophy, logos, thumos, and epithumia are the three components that make up a human mind. I felt like the sun had shined upon me when I learned about this concept, because it helped me understand one of my greatest weakness: procrastination.

I have a serious problem with epithumia. Whenever I know I should study for that midterm exam or finish that assignment, I suddenly get an irresistible urge to grab a snack, play iPhone games, go jogging, or just go to sleep. I understand the value of that extra hour put in to writing that essay (Socrates would disagree with me that I do not), but all the other temptations try to pull me off my work and do something else that does not require as much effort.

One of my goal is to get good grades, because having a high academic record provides more opportunities and paths for me to choose from in the future. However, I had always been hindered by my tendency to procrastinate with schoolwork. This brought me to a question. Why did I think I know the true value of the work that I am supposed to do, when in fact I did not by Socratic standards (because I fail to act)? How did I gain the false insight?

This question is difficult to answer, but I believe I have a sense of it. When I analyzed my thought process, I realized that I had always been comparing the work with its deadline. I was weighing the amount of time I had with the value of my assignment and my other appetites. Given this fixed time, I tried to maximize my utility. That is, I tried to get the most happiness out of all the activities that I could perform within this time. There are two key assumptions that I am making when I procrastinate. I assume that time is fixed, and that the thing I am putting off will not make me happy in the given time. Thus, all of my appetites that provide me with immediate happiness become prioritized, while the studying becomes at the very bottom of the To-Do list.

So, what was wrong about my awareness of values? The answer seems to be that I understood well enough the value of studying GIVEN A FIXED TIME. Studying was not worth doing in this period, because I believed it would not make me any happier, if not worse. However, what I failed to take in to account when I was procrastinating is that life goes on, even after the deadline. My assumption that time is fixed is wrong. If I was going to die tomorrow, then yes, I should be having fun and not doing my assignment since I will not be submitting it anyways. But the sun will rise every day, the assignment will be closer to the deadline, and the consequences of procrastinating eventually becomes so large that its negative value far outweighs any positives from other appetites. This is the point in which I realize the value of procrastinating. Only by comparing it to the other pleasures will I be able to grasp the true value of my laziness.

True knowledge is expensive.