To Work Or Not To Work?

Students wrote soliloquies based of off Hamlet's famous speech in order to solve a problem they faced in their life.

By: Anonymous

To work or not to work—that is the question:

Whether ‘tis easier to complete assignments on time,

And sit hunched over a desk for hours straight,

Or wait to complete them at a later date,

And give thyself a chance to relax.

To work, to be productive—

No more—and by working I know

That the workload will only accumulate

As each day goes by—

‘Tis a situation,

I do not wish to face.

To ignore it, to procrastinate—

To procrastinate, perhaps too much. Ay, there’s the problem.

For with procrastinating what new responsibilities may come about

As we shrug off our current ones

In hope that they disappear.

That’s the idea

That makes disaster of procrastinating.

For who really wants to get their work done,

To spend two hours doing one assignment

Only for a teacher to post another,

To watch the day go by and see everyone enjoy it,

While you stay inside and slave away

At the most recent task assigned to you.

And the cold looks

That diligent workers send in my direction,

When they too could put off getting their work done

And spend time with their loved ones instead.

Who would voluntarily do all their homework,

To groan and complain the entire time,

But the horror that they will not have enough time after procrastinating,

The work yet to be released by their teachers

Which their classmates discuss

While we stand in a confused daze,

Wishing we had started our assignments earlier,

Instead of waiting until the last minute.

Thus the fear of running out of time makes diligent workers of us all,

And thus the bliss of procrastination

Is tainted by the unfinished work looming over you,

And peaceful moments of relaxation

With this regard are cut short

And lose their temptation in favor of being productive.