Lauren Peckler Columnist

When the weekend rolls around, and you're completely dead from the school, how many of you wait until Sunday night to cram for that Monday exam? How many of you said the Friday before, "I'm going to do half or all of my homework on Sunday so I can relax?"

Inevitably, a majority of all students procrastinate and study late Sunday night. Approximately 70 percent of students procrastinate.

Can you imagine a college life without procrastination? The thrill of finishing that 10-page paper that you started in the afternoon and finished at 2 in the morning, would no longer exist. Students would always choose homework before the television or the Internet.

We'd constantly be controlled by the "correct" and "important," as opposed to the "fun" and "exciting." "Work before play" would be obsolete, and would change to "work, work, work, what's play?"

This past summer, scientists altered the work habits of our biologically similar friends, monkeys.

In simplest terms, they stopped the production of dopamine in the brains of monkeys. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter related to reward learning. The monkeys were then given a task to do with a reward when they finished. They were unable to decipher between how much they had to work to achieve their goal.

More or less, these monkeys transformed into workaholics. With dopamine, they gradually increased the efficiency as they became closer to the reward. Without it though, they always worked efficiently, without any errors.

This study could be the beginning of the end for human procrastination. In 50 years, instead of students running to the stores for No-Doz or Red Bulls, they might pick up a box of no-procrastination pills.

Since we all know the side effects of quick solutions like No-Doz, the question is can we change procrastination without altering our molecular structures? Or, do we really want to get rid of procrastination?

Psychologically, we all vary when it comes to work. Procrastinators are divided into six different types.

If you fret over a task so much that you keep avoiding it, you're the worrier. The worriers often are too afraid to start something in fear of it being too difficult.

The perfectionist relates to the worrier because they too fear projects. They put off projects because they are afraid they won't satisfy their extremely high standards.

Those of you who lack any stress whatsoever are the dreamers. Dreamers always talk about their lofty aspirations, but never get around to doing them. The reason for this usually derives from their lackadaisical nature that avoids stress completely.

If you're so busy all the time that you can't get around to everything, you're the over-doer. This means that life is so hectic and jam-packed that you have trouble deciphering what is and what isn't more important.

For those who love the thrill of getting something done at the very last minute, you're likely to fit in the crisis-maker category. These are the types who declare, "I work better under pressure!"

Finally, there always has to be the rebel. If you love going against the grain and proving everyone wrong, you're the defy-er. Defy-ers wait to the very last minute, so they can stubbornly admit that they don't have to listen to everyone telling them what they should do.

When we understand what category we fit into, it becomes easier to handle the problem of procrastination. If you know that you're the over-doer, then decide if you have too much going on in your life, and simplify.

I don't believe procrastination can ever be cured completely through behavior, but it's certainly manageable.

If you have trouble getting what needs to be done done, try manipulating it through your lifestyle. More exercise, change of scenery, healthier diet, or new friends can all effect how you approach the importance of individual tasks.

For the rest of us too set in our ways, a life-threatening or defining moment remarkably alters our outlook on life and how we think about prioritizing.

Procrastination serves as a check in the balance of our busy lives. It's the whole yin and yang concept. We need a little bit of bad in our lives to understand the good. All measure of happiness would be lost if we didn't have those little habits that ultimately make us feel guilty.

As for the monkeys, let's hope that the pharmaceutical companies don't tempt us with non-procrastination pills in the future. We all need, at some point, to just do what we want, even if we know that it's wrong.

Lauren Peckler is a sophomore majoring in English and sociology. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.