Oscar Aguilar/ The Cougar

Victor Melendez started finals week with the same intentions as everyone else — study hard, ace finals and end the semester on a good note. Like the rest of his peers, however, the biotechnology freshman succumbed to the bug going around campus: procrastination.

Finals week brings out the creative side of students, as they come up with unique ways to avoid studying. None are more effective than Melendez’s methods, such as getting interviewed for this story.

“I usually go to the gym, play Fortnite, hang out with friends and social media,” Melendez said.

Procrastination gets a bad reputation for being unproductive, but Melendez might just be on the right track. Like any other athlete, Melendez’s Fortnite ability may land him a scholarship.

According to Forbes, some colleges, such as Ashford University, began giving out scholarships for their Fortnite eSports team — some as high as $4,000. If Melendez procrastinates hard enough and UH begins offering a similar award, he might beat students in the library to a full ride.

Lily Ortega, a biology senior, said she procrastinates in a more conventional but equally productive way.

“I clean the house, clean my room, do chores and do things my parents want me to do,” Ortega said.

Although cleaning might not fit every student’s idea of a good time, Ortega embraces the chore over her study sessions. Similar to Melendez, Ortega found a productive way to fulfill this objective.

But not all students linger on Blackboard waiting for the review to write itself. Miguelangel Ruiz, a communications freshman, said he constantly alternates between his different exams while studying.

“I will never focus on one thing because I try to focus on all of them at the same time,” Ruiz said. “As I start opening the book, I’ll go like, this is way too long, and I push it aside.”

Few students procrastinate by taking on all of their exams at once. It shows students manage to avoid their responsibilities in every way possible. Students like Ruiz experience the consequences of taking on too much at a time, such as being less efficient and producing lower-quality work, while others rejoice when giving into their internal desire for a stress-free life.

Emily Contreras, a psychology junior, said she shops to elude her exam reviews.

“I procrastinate a lot by buying organization stuff so that I can be like, I won’t procrastinate if I have a planner and all these markers,” Contreras said.

In her case, Contreras might be labeled an organized procrastinator. It’s reassuring for some to see students have evolved from the less socially acceptable ways of putting off school work, like binge watching all nine seasons of The Office.

Still, even the best of them fall to unproductive habits. One can only buy so many planners and markers.

“I start shopping for stuff I don’t need, like crafts,” Contreras said. “I’m not a crafty person.”

editor@thedailycougar.com

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“Fortnite, shopping, cleaning: Do something by doing nothing” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar