Make your bed in the Morning!

Joe Fedder 

When you wake up each morning do you make your bed? Maybe it’s too much work, your running late, or you’ll do it tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice if a small amount of time each morning can change your life? 

A study showed that roughly 70% of adult Americans make their bed each morning, and most of those interviewed gave positive feedback. 

One reason to start this healthy habit is to start your day off right. Your brain feeds off of small accomplishments to get a feel good chemical called dopamine. Increased amounts of dopamine contribute to your overall happiness, and improves your mood and mental health.

Another positive outcome is that making your bed encourages you to keep the rest of your room tidy and organized, leading to having a more organized car, house, and lifestyle.

Making your bed makes you more productive! Being in control and making good decisions can lead to other healthy decisions throughout the day. Maybe after making your bed you will second guess eating a whole box of donuts for breakfast.

Lastly, it feels good. When you have a rough day, and come home exhausted, laying down in a neat and fresh bed is the best recovery. Having a made bed improves: sleep, relaxation, and overall mood. 

Admiral McRaven addresses the University of Texas at Austin Class of 2014

In conclusion, the marginal benefits of making your bed exceed the marginal cost of time and effort. Everyone should try to make their bed in the morning to improve their sleep, happiness, and productivity.

Ullman, Michelle. “5 Surprising Benefits to Making Your Bed Every Morning.” The Spruce, www.thespruce.com/reasons-to-make-your-bed-every-day-350511. 

 

Shark Tank

 Shark Tank 

Jack Miller

Many of you know or have seen the show Shark Tank, but for those of you who haven't, it is a show which includes investors worth millions called the “Sharks.” The Sharks are Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbra Corcoran, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary. Every investor in this group has a net worth over 100 million, and Mark Cuban has the highest at roughly $4.5 billion. In Shark Tank, they hear pitches from business owners that want funding in exchange for some ownership, or equity, in the business. Many of the deals that have gone down have made these investors millions, but the potential deals the Sharks missed were their biggest mistakes.

In 2013 Jamie Siminoff walked onto the stage of Shark Tank trying to snag a deal. The product he presented was a security camera system, at the time called Door Bot, now widely known as Ring. His pitch was $700,000 for 10% of his company. This took the Sharks by surprise with many of them seeming to be upset thinking at the evaluation. One of the Sharks offered a $700,000 loan, he gets 10% of sales until it was paid off, and 7% royalty and 5% in company equity. Jamie Siminoff quickly denied the offer; he wanted something more than just a loan. As debates went back and forth, eventually none of them could come to an agreement. Little did they know, Ring would be one of their biggest regrets for not taking this deal. Just 2 years later, Ring was flying off the shelfs and became a huge business known around the world. The company eventually went on to sell over 1 million units. In just 5 year, Ring was sold to Amazon. The amount was never publicly said, but officials are estimating the sale to be between 1.2-1.8 billion dollars. If these numbers are correct, the sharks could have made over 100 million dollars before taxes if they struck a deal. 

The next big miss by the Sharks was on a dating app called Coffee meets Bagel. In 2020, when going onto the stage, this dating app had around 350,000 users and $270,000 in sales within the first 5 months on the market. The three owners, all sisters, traveled to the sharks ready to get a deal. They asked for $500,000 for 5% of the business. Many of the sharks seemed really interested initially. Debating went back and forth for a very long time, but no deal seemed to be working out; the sisters weren’t budging because they thought their business’s future was promising. Then, out of nowhere, Mark Cuban asked, “if I offered 30 million dollars for the whole company would you take it.” The sisters all looked at eachother and jaws dropped, they ended up talking and decided to decline the offer because they weren't willing to sell the whole business yet. So the sisters ended up leaving the show with no deals. Just a year later, the estimated value of Coffee Meets bagels is estimated to be around 150 million dollars.

Overall, the Sharks have been very successful throughout their years on Shark Tank generating millions of dollars in profits each. But even with all the success, they failed to make a deal with Ring and Coffee Meets Bagel which they must strongly regret. 

Work Cited 

“Shark Tank Cast and Guest Sharks + Net Worths.” Shark Tank Tales: Life After Shark Tank Updates, 15 Sept. 2021, https://sharktanktales.com/shark-tank-cast/. 

“The Shark Tank Cast Are Worth Billions – but Who Is Worth the Most?” South China Morning Post, 25 Aug. 2021, https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3131800/whos-richest-shark-tank-cast-member-net-worths-ranked-nba. 

Taylor, Andrea Browne. “8 Shark Tank Fails That Turned into Big Successes.” Kiplinger, Kiplinger, 22 Feb. 2019, https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/business/t049-s001-8-shark-tank-fails-that-turned-into-big-successes/index.html.

Should you get a Credit Card?

 Should You Get a Credit Card?

By: Natalie Picard

You’ve just turned eighteen, graduated high school, and are ready to start the journey to the career you’ve been working towards. Now that you’ve reached this age, you have more control than ever over your money. You’ve had a debit card for a while, but you’ve heard about the concept of “building credit” and getting a credit card. Needless to say, you’re a bit apprehensive to have another card to keep track of. Beforehand, it’s important to consider the positives and negatives of adding a credit card to your personal finances, and to formulate a coordinated plan to build your credit for the future. 

Credit cards and debit cards are similar in the fact that they can be used pretty much anywhere as a form of payment without using cash or checks. Cards are often more convenient and efficient payment methods. Besides this commonality, there are many differences between the two. Debit cards are relatively simplistic: when you buy something, that money comes directly out of your bank account. Credit cards, on the other hand, are far more complex. This type of payment card charges purchases using a line of credit. Essentially, you’re borrowing money and eventually paying it back with added interest to the card company. The current average credit card interest rate is 18.04% for new offers and 15.10% for existing accounts. There has been a general pattern of an increase in credit card interest rates over the past couple of years, which is expected to continue into the future. Despite what you spend in interest rates, there are plenty of benefits for having a credit card. Opening one can be critical in building your credit, meaning that you develop a good credit score in order to apply for major loans, rent an apartment, or buy a house. Plus, having a credit card can also mean sign-on bonuses, discounts, and a percentage of cash-back on purchases. These are incentives that credit card companies offer to individuals in order to intice them into applying for their credit card. 

Building credit is an essential part of creating a life for yourself and personal assets, however, debt is a very real aspect in finances, which can be rooted in your payment methods. Credit card debt is defined as the result when a client of a credit card company purchases an item or service through the card system. Debt accumulates and increases via interest and penalties when the consumer does not pay the company for the money they have spent. According to the 2019 Experian Consumer Credit Review, on average, Americans carry $6,194 in credit card debt. Some common causes of debt include lack of an emergency fund, medical expenses, divorce, and most-importantly, overspending. The major downfall to credit cards is that you may end up spending money that you don’t have and can’t afford to pay back, accumulate debt, and then have to face debt collectors, and possibly damaging your credit score. Debt is not uncommon, in fact, it’s quite common amongst those who make large financial decisions and need to take out loans for them. However, your financial success depends on if you have a thought-out plan to pay it back or not.

Of course, deciding to open up a credit card is your choice based on your own finances. However, it is wise to acknowledge if you have a steady income, and to plan out your expenses so that you don’t spend more than you can afford. If you take the time to understand your level of financial responsibility and considering the trade-offs associated, it won’t be difficult to know when, and if you’re ready for a credit card. 

Works Cited

About the authors: Erin is a credit cards expert and studies writer at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured by USA Today. “How to Build Credit.” NerdWallet, www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-build-credit.

“Debit or Credit Card – What's the Difference?” Education First Federal Credit Union, www.educationfirstfcu.org/Resources/Learn/Financial-Education/Articles/Credit-Credit-Cards/Debit-or-Credit-Card-What-s-the-Difference.

“What Causes Credit Debt? The 5 Leading Causes of Credit Card Debt...” Americor, 14 Apr. 2020, americor.com/the-5-leading-causes-of-credit-card-debt/.

White, Alexandria. “Alaskans Carry the Highest Credit Card Balance-Here's the Average Credit Card Balance in Every State.” CNBC, CNBC, 8 July 2021, www.cnbc.com/select/average-credit-card-balance-by-state/.

Is Multitasking Beneficial to your Work Ethic?

 Is Multitasking Beneficial to Your Work Ethic?

Charles Albert

You’ve probably heard of multitasking or maybe you've been guilty of multitasking yourself. Take for example, a couple homework assignments. I bet there’s points in time where you think that your work will be done faster if you choose to tackle 2 assignments at once. You may think that it’s helpful but in reality it really isn’t and there’s evidence to prove that multitasking is not beneficial in any way to your work ethic.

Some people claim that they are adept at multitasking and claim they have a skill for it which is not true. A study at Stanford University found out that heavy multitaskers were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do things one at a time. Multitasking is very distracting and it reduces competency because your brain is designed to work on things one at a time, and when you try to do multiple things at once, your brain lacks the ability to do it coherently

Multitasking literally slows your brain down when you try to do it, it is called “task switch cost”, which is the negative effect that comes from switching from task to task. It happens because the increased mental demand that is related to going from one task to another causes us to slow down. Changing our focus also keeps us from relying on our brain’s “autopilot” which frees up more brain power, but switching from one task to another makes us slow down considerably.

You also tend to make more mistakes when you multitask. A study showed multiple things that happen when you multitask, that being minor spelling errors when typing (thank god for autocorrect), more mistakes in your homework causing you to do it over again, and adults are more likely to make mistakes when driving, and students also have lower GPAs.

Now, there is a way to be efficient at working without multitasking. You can delegate your tasks to take specific amounts of time that way you complete them in a set amount of time and there would be no need to even think about multitasking. You can also give yourself breaks in between work so that way you can recollect yourself. A common workplace task that helps with this is checking email. Studies have shown that the average professional spends about 23 percent of their day emailing.

So next time you think about multitasking, think about the trade-offs that come with multitasking, and the opportunity cost of wasting that time, especially now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of multitasking.

Works Cited

Bradberry, Travis. “Multitasking Damages Your Brain And Career, New Studies Suggest.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Jan. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/?sh=5c74d3dd56ee.

Cherry, Kendra. “Cognitive and Productive Costs of Multitasking.” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/multitasking-2795003.

“To Multitask or Not to Multitask: USC Online.” USC MAPP Online, 12 Mar. 2020, appliedpsychologydegree.usc.edu/blog/to-multitask-or-not-to-multitask/.

Inflation

 Inflation 

Elise Keesler

The annual inflation rate for this year in the United States is 5.3% just from this past year. 

Inflation is an increase of the money supply and only the government can raise that. Inflation causes prices to rise but rising prices are not inflation. If the government keeps printing money it can benefit them but not the people. As they keep printing money the government does not need to set a budget either because well they are the government. 

Progress throughout the previous months: 

The first recorded hyperinflation was in France during the French revolution. It was up 143%. Germany in October 1923 had 29,500% of hyperinflation. Germanys papermarks would not solve the war reparations as the Treaty of Versailles required the payment be in either gold or another equivalent. For over a year and a half they dealt with this problem as they did not pay the money. As of 2018, Venezuelas inflation rate is at 65,374%. It has come down to 5,500% this year which is still insane. 

Pertaining to this year, the Biden administration has given certain amounts of money to everyone even if some did not need it. It may look as though this is beneficial but now since then gas prices have risen through the roof, groceries are now costing more money, and housing is much more expensive. More dollars are now competing for the same amount of whatever item. Prices must rise for everything when there is more money being printed. At this point everything is going to get higher in price. Literally everything. Is it really worth it? 

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/29/rick-scott/blame-joe-biden-inflation-most-government-spending/ 

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/ 

https://www.cnbc.com/2011/02/14/The-Worst-Hyperinflation-Situations-of-All-Time.html 

The National Debt

Nicholas Seidl

When we hear numbers in the trillions it is hard to imagine that anything on earth that can be so numerous that it reaches such an amount. Unfortunately as Americans, we have a very relevant example of something so large that it can be measured by the trillion. Our country’s national debt is the largest of any country in the world, and is currently around 28 trillion dollars, and isn’t expected to stop growing. Since the year 2000, the national debt has increased by over 20 trillion dollars. The amount of money our country ows is often used as an argument for changes to our tax policy or used as evidence for reduced government spending. Additionally, it may be difficult to understand the national debt because we do not owe all of our money to the same people. However it is important to realize the gravity of the problem of our national debt because it will very likely be a problem that affects us in everyday life in the future.

National Debt by Year

https://datalab.usaspending.gov/

The sheer size of the national debt can be terrifying, but why is our country in debt in the first place? While some may think that taxation is thought to be used to pay for all of the government’s many programs, the government doesn’t generate enough money to pay for everything it spends money on. When the country cannot generate enough funds to pay for its expenditures, it borrows from investors or foreign governments in the form of bonds or similar methods. It also borrows money from other US government departments.

The two simplest ways that the national debt can begin to be reduced is through raises to taxes or by reducing the amount of money the government spends. Raising taxes gives the government more funds to operate with so won’t have to borrow and governments can reduce their expenditures by cutting programs or spending money more efficiently to reduce costs. Either way, the government needs to bring in more tax revenue than all of the money it spends in a year to begin to reduce the national debt. Of course, both of these methods to reduce debt may be unpopular.

So what caused the debt to rise to such a large amount? Increases in national debt often follow financial hardships. The rate at which our national debt increased began to rise as government policies that were intended to ease the pain from the recession were put into place during the 2008 economic recession. Similar actions were taken during the Great Depression which also raised the debt. More recently, stimulus packages during the pandemic have also raised the national debt.

As our national debt only increases, many are wondering if the amount of debt that America has taken on is sustainable. While the effects of our debt haven’t had a noticeable impact on everyday life for Americans yet, the debt may become a larger problem. As mentioned earlier, the government borrows money from itself. One of the ways it does this is by borrowing money from the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for other government expenditures. As the elderly population grows from generation to generation, the government will no longer be able to borrow from this fund because the fund itself may no longer be able to pay for the social security program.

Additionally, we may start to owe foreign investors and governments even more money than we already do. Generally, the country has low interest rates on the money it was loaned because our investors have faith in our economy and expect that they will eventually be paid back. However, if countries were to lose faith in their investments, they may demand larger interest on their loans, or be less willing to invest in the country. This could cause a problem because our country is already dependent on investments from other countries to pay for everything it spends. We rely on good faith from our investors as well as low interest rates; we may no longer be able to count on either of these factors if investors lose faith based upon the ballooning national debt.

The national debt has ballooned to such heights that we would not be able to pay all of it off even if we paid all the capital that we produce in a year. The money that we borrow will need to be paid back eventually, and the way we borrow may not be sustainable in our future. Our country may have to raise its taxes or cut spending; both of these options could potentially have negative effects on the economy as a result anyways especially in the goal of economic security if social benefits suffer due to the debt or if taxes have to be raised to pay for all of our programs. The national debt is a complicated problem that can no longer be ignored as the problems that it will cause in the future can already be predicted.

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. “US Debt and How It Affects the Economy.” The Balance, 13 Feb. 2021, www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-debt-and-how-it-got-so-big-3305778.

Amadeo, Kimberly. “What Is the Public Debt?” The Balance, 30 Apr. 2021, www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-public-debt-3306294.

Amadeo, Kimberly. “Why You Should Care About the Nation's Debt.” The Balance, 27 Mar. 2021, www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-national-debt-4031393.

“Federal Debt Trends Over Time.” U.S. Treasury Data Lab, datalab.usaspending.gov/americas-finance-guide/debt/trends/.

“What You Should Know about America's Deficit and Its Debt.” Debt.org, www.debt.org/government/what-to-know-about-deficit-and-debt/.

Post-Secondary Options

Ava Schwab 

Thinking about options after high school is now in the forefront of students' minds. With all of the options available: trade schools, apprenticeships, the workforce, or college, there is a lot to choose from. College and trade schools seem to be the first choice for many of the high school students. 

Trade schools in careers are in high demand. Which means original trade jobs are rising in price. They are also found more affordable for general degrees. But these jobs are held to a higher standard when presented. Trade/Tech schools can transfer credit by 2 or 4 years. Lowest price tech school  average cost is 1,033  and highest price tech school average cost is 5,384. The lowest wage you could make for going to a tech school is $40,710 and the highest wage is $124,540 for just a two or four year trade school.

Going to college with a private or public can be a great deal of stress. The after-school is also a worry with debt and finding a job. As well as 1 in 4 parents believe a total year of college should cost or equal $5,000  or less.  As well as their cost, tuition, fees, housing, food, and book. One year at a private school can cost $38,185.  One year at a public out-of-state school can cost $22,698.  One year at a public school in the state can cost $ 10,338. Now comparing the price of trade school and college, you'd see that trade schools have less fees. 

Difference between trade schools and colleges in a few categories. Trade schools are needed to perform essential services. While colleges give you a degree and allow you to have a comfortable job. But both don’t serve an employee with job security. There are also career flexibilities. Such as trade schools won’t allow a lot of career flexibility, what you leave the school knowing is the only career you’d stay in. Colleges can have one of their degree holders be able to switch a job. “According to BLS employment data, the average American switches jobs every four years and holds about 12 jobs in their lifetime.” from Trade Schools VS Colleges. This is saying that you can switch more with a college degree. 

In Conclusion, there are many different points and thoughts on what is done for secondary options and these aren’t even all the options. But before making a decision, make sure to do all of your research.

Works Cited

Alharbi, Maramm, et al. “The Study Of Community Awareness About Multiplesclerosis.” International Journal of Advanced Research, vol. 4, no. 12, 2016, pp. 15–22., doi:10.21474/ijar01/2358.

“Average Cost of College & Tuition.” EducationData, 15 Aug. 2021, educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college.

“Forbes America's Top Colleges List 2021.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com/top-colleges/.

“Top 30 Highest Paying Trade School Jobs and Vocational School Careers.” Online College Plan, 1 July 2021, www.onlinecollegeplan.com/vocational-school-highest-paying-careers/.

Shark Tank

Aryaman Asthana     

Many of us apprehend only one aspect of a Shark Tank agreement, the valuation. Entrepreneurs pitch their monetary valuation of the business proposition, seeking funding from Shark Tank investors in exchange for a certain “stake” in their company. As viewers, we tend to assume that we’re cognizant of the entire business transaction between the two parties solely based on these two aspects of the valuation. After all, the holistic trade-off is investment from a lender in exchange for part ownership in a business. Though, in reality, we all know that we have a relatively superficial understanding of these agreements. We neglect/misinterpret stipulations within the negotiations, strategies used by both investors and entrepreneurs to deduce a profitable valuation, key terminology, and agreement add-ons, and as a result, only partly know all of the details of the deal. 

Why did that “shark” choose to partner up with another one? 

Why did the “shark” lower the proposed valuation? 

Hmm. That was a pretty good offer. Why didn’t the entrepreneur pursue that valuation? 

Why didn’t the “shark” drop out of the deal?

To begin, let’s consider this valuation:

Seeking $500,000 for 20% stake in the business...

Understanding the valuation: 

A stake (or other times referred to as equity) is the percentage of ownership of a business an investor would receive if they were to fund that company for a certain amount. In this example, if a “shark” invested $500,000 in this business, they would be compensated with a 20% equity stake in the company. A valuation determines the full-scale value of the business, and equity stake is a major facet of the valuation of a business. A $500,000 investment would warrant an equity stake of 20%, meaning for 100% equity stake (or the entire business), the business would be valued at $2,500,000 as a whole ($500,000/0.25 equity share). 

Determining a valuation (“shark”) as fair or unreasonable:

Before “sharks” determine if a valuation is fair or not, they must see an investment as a lucrative opportunity and also be interested in pursuing a deal with the entrepreneur. They may also ask the entrepreneur about their professional background and expertise. Next, they must inquire into the logistics of the business as a whole and at its current state. Let’s suppose this business sells an eco-friendly dish soap. Oftentimes, “sharks” first examine the market value (the highest amount that someone is willing to pay for a product as well as the lowest amount that a seller is willing to sell at) of the business product or service. To do this, “Sharks” may ask about the retail price of one unit of their product, which is the price that consumers purchase the product for in retail stores. Consequently, “sharks” may ask about the cost of production of one unit of their product to determine the gross profit margin, or the percentage of the sales that the business receives from retail units sold. 

Entrepreneur: “Each dish soap bottle costs $9.99 retail price. The cost of production is $4.50.”

Gross profit margin is calculated by subtracting the cost of production from the retail price and using that value to find a percentage that correlates to the retail price. 

In this case, $9.99 (retail price) - $4.50 (cost of production) = $5.49

$5.49 (profit per sale)/$9.99 (retail price)  x  100 = approx. 55% gross profit margin

A 55% gross profit margin for a retail product is above average retail margin, meaning an investment in this business would secure a relatively high rate of return. This also indicates a high market value because the business is maintaining an above average profit margin while also selling thousands of units of the product to consumers. 

Next, a “shark” may want to consider the annual net sales revenue (or net revenue/sales) of the business. To deduce this, the “shark” needs a value that is indicative of the number of units of the product this business typically sells. The “shark” may ask for the average units sold of this product. 

Entrepreneur: “We’ve sold around 18,000 units in the past 6 months of this product.”

If this business has sold 18,000 units of this product in 6 months, or 36,000 units in a year, the total gross sales revenue would be determined by multiplying the number of units sold by the profit per sale generated by the product. In this case, 36,000 units  x  $5.49 (profit per sale) = approx. $198,000 in gross sales revenue. By deducting allowances and other distribution and exportation expenditures that the entrepreneur mentions, the “shark” determines that the annual net sales revenue equated to around $150,000. With this knowledge, the “shark” may see the valuation as overpriced. A company valued at $2,500,000 only produces $150,000 in net sales revenue per year, meaning that it would take more than 16 years for the business to reach $2,500,000 in sales. This may compel a “shark” to propose a lower valuation (if they were interested), or if the entrepreneur was reluctant to lower his valuation, drop out of the offer. However, if the entrepreneur would have stated that the business recently entered a sales agreement with Walmart to sell $600,000 worth of the product, the valuation would be more appealing to the “shark” based on the sales forecast. The “shark” may perceive a potential to scale the company to exceed market demands and sales volume and capital capacity to generate more and more revenue over the years. 

If this convinces the “shark” to pursue an offer but still pose a risk to the overall outlook of the investment, they might negotiate for a royalty. A royalty allows the “shark” to demand a fixed amount of money to be returned to them for every one unit of the product sold. Royalties are beneficial because they almost guarantee a return on investment for the “shark” in case the business is successful or not, even if royalties are suspended after a “shark” is returned a certain fixture of total money. 

In this case, if a “shark” accepted the valuation of the entrepreneur but asked for a $2 royalty on each unit of the dish soap sold, the past year the “shark” would have made $72,000 even if the business was on a downward trend and losing revenue annually. As businesses grow, the royalty takes a toll on the revenue that businesses generate and hinder the growth of a company. 

If royalties don’t interest an entrepreneur, a “shark” may pursue a partnership with another “shark”. This allows for a “shark” to invest less money into a business while usually attempting to maintain the initial equity they might have received if they had pursued the offer by themselves. 

All in all, there are many tenets of economics that play a role in Shark Tank investments and stipulations that are implemented within a valuation. By just considering the valuation as the overarching trade-off may obscure some of the broader trade-offs and stipulations that may or may not benefit or hurt the investor. Additionally, there are many factors in determining a fair valuation or agreement between an entrepreneur and an investor because there needs to be a reasonable compromise between the two parties to generate capital and develop a business. With this better understanding of a Shark Tank, we can fully understand the offers that appear on the iconic show. 

Works Cited

August 20, 2021 by Dave Schools - Grow. “How ‘Shark TANK’ Revealed the Difference 

between Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin.” Launchopedia, 20 Aug. 2021, fundingsage.com/how-shark-tank-revealed-the-important-difference-between-gross-profit-margin-and-net-profit-margin/.

Cestare, Tommy. “The (Sorta) Comprehensive Guide TO ‘Shark Tank’ Terms.” Medium, The 

Tommy Cestare Blog, 17 Mar. 2020, medium.com/tommycestare/the-sorta-comprehensive-guide-to-shark-tank-terms-5bb7706cc1a8.

Yu, Jea. “How Is a Business Valued on 'Shark Tank'?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Sept. 2021, 

www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/092116/how-business-valued-shark-tank.asp. 

Why do People Procrastinate?

 Why Do People Procrastinate?

Kaelyn Stephenson

Imagine that you have a presentation due in one week. Plenty of time right? So you come up with your idea the first day, and decide to push off the work for a couple days. You have sports and other homework due before the presentation that’s more important. After several days of pushing back the work, you look at your calendar and it’s the night before the presentation, but you need to watch one more episode of your favorite show because of that cliffhanger. After it’s done, the daunting size of the entire presentation causes you to hesitate starting it. You think it'll take three hours to complete it, it’s 4:00 pm, and you typically go to bed at midnight. So you have until 9:00 pm until you have to start. Before you know it, time flies and it’s already nine. But you still don’t start, your phone is too addictive to look away from. You get to a point where your phone bores you and you finally start your project at eleven. You crame all the research, script writing, and forming the presentation in a short time and frantically work to finish. It’s 2:30 am when you finish, and with 4 hours of sleep, you give the presentation and the chaos is finally over. Somehow, you managed to pull off an A, but at what cost? 

A study by Darius Foroux found 88% of people in the workforce procrastinate at least one hour a day. On the more severe end, 20% of adults say they experience chronic procrastination. So why is it that so many people procrastinate when we know it needs to be done eventually? Many factors can play into people’s reasons for procrastinating --besides just being “lazy”--, and the resulting opportunity costs from this decision may be too large to justify it. 

A major cause of procrastination is distractions. In the above scenario, it’s your phone and favorite tv show. Many students deal with similar issues regarding their phones and social media distracting them from school work. A study by researchers at King’s College London found almost 40% of college students aged 18 to 30 were addicted to their phones. With an addiction to phones, students would much rather spend their time scrolling through social media than finishing their math homework. Distractions aren’t just specifically the internet, but most associated with procrastination are. When a student chooses to spend time on their phone, they are creating the opportunity cost of time better spent completing homework for school or other more beneficial activities.

With the constant pressures of getting good grades in school in order to be successful in life, perfectionism is a frequent occurrence in teens. With perfectionism, completing projects and presentations can seem daunting. It needs to be perfect to earn an A, but I don’t want to start because I can’t make it perfect. With the pressures, students continue to push off and procrastinate. Additionally, there is a psychological phenomenon called temporal disjunction where people see their future self as different from their present self. For that reason, you pushed the presentation to the night before because upon learning of the assignment, you thought this was an issue for future you, therefore somebody else’s problem. 

Getting a good grade on a project someone procrastinated can make them get into a worse habit of it, which is where chronic procrastination plays in. Seeing themselves get an A on it, they think, if I can get an A doing it last minute, I don’t have to worry about finishing it earlier than that, fueling the cycle of procrastinating.

Even with the decision to procrastinate, there are still opportunity costs that result from it. If you had completed the presentation even three hours before, you would’ve had three extra hours of sleep. Procrastination can cause less sleep, especially from students who have homework due in the morning and they find themselves pushing it later into the night. Less sleep can lead to being more tired that following day of school, having less focus, and a chain reaction is set off. It has also been known to cause anxiety and stress from pushing it off until the last minute, which are easily preventable if it was completely at an earlier time. Decisions like spending hours on your phone put you in that detrimental situation of procrastination. Minimizing the time with your phone may motivate you more to finish homework with your free time. In the end, these opportunity costs to procrastinating do not justify doing it and result in a larger cost than gain.

So the next time you think about pushing your homework to the last minute, think about it in terms of a trade-off, and weigh the opportunity costs and benefits to you; because with this mindset, your decision may not be the same as it was before. 

Works Cited

“Procrastination: Facts and Stats 2021.” The Creatives Hour, 9 Apr. 2021, https://thecreativeshour.com/procrastination-facts-and-stats/#:~:text=%20General%20Stats%20of%20Procrastination%20%201%2020%25,including%0Apoor%20time%20management%2C%0Al 

Science, London School of Economics and Political. “Students Struggles: Battling with Procrastination.” Home, https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/Assets/Articles/procrastination 

Scipionl, Jade. “College Students ‘addiction’ to Smartphones May Affect Sleep: Study.” CNBC, 2. Mar. 2021, ihttps://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/college-students-addiction-to-smartphones-may-affect-sleep.html 

“Teen Anxiety: How Perfectionism Fuels Anxiety in Teenagers.” Psycom.Net -Metal Health Treatment Resource Sinced 1996, https://www.psycom.net/perfectionism-teen-anxiety/

“Why People Procrastinate: The Pyschology and Causes of Procrastination - Solving Procrastination.” Solving Procrastination, https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/