Procrastination: Every Student's Friend and Foe

We all procrastinate. You're doing it right now (I'm sure there's something you're putting off by reading this post). Some of us don't do it as much as others, but we all do it to some degree. Hopefully these tips will help you push through that desire to procrastinate - though I can't promise they will cure your procrastination.

Making Work Manageable

One of the main reasons we procrastinate is because we find the work - or our overall workload - overwhelming. We don't know where to start. The first step in beating procrastination is to break up the work so that it doesn't seem so overwhelming. Here are a few ways to do that:

To-do lists & Bullet Journals

When you actually write stuff down, it gives them a tangible, solid form. They stop becoming these free-floating, abstract concepts. They become real. So find a way that woks best for you, whether it's keeping a running list of tasks on your phone or creating a Bullet Journal. The possibilities are endless, and you'll be surprised at how much more productive you become once you have a list.

Set short-term and long-term goals

If you have goals set for yourself - and have them recorded somewhere - it becomes easier to accomplish them. Because, again, they become real.

I consider short-term goals to be things I want to accomplish by the end of the day. Some people extend that to the end of the week or the end of the month. My life is insanely busy and things are forever changing so I like to keep the short-term goals as short-term as possible.

My long-term goals include things like: graduate from Penn State in December. Get the basement in order by the end of summer. Have Landon sleeping in his crib upstairs by the end of summer. Stuff like that. Things that there's no rush to finish, but I'd like to have done by a certain point in my life (another long-term goal includes getting a new tattoo, but that's a so-far-in-the-future-I-can't-even-see-it long-term goal).

Break it down.

The best way to make your work manageable is to break down those big, daunting tasks into smaller, less-daunting tasks. Doing this gives you a small chunk to work with and it makes getting through everything a bit easier.

Bargain with Yourself

Make deals with yourself as motivation to get work done. I always promise myself a hot bath if I get through so much work. Never underestimate the power of a small bargain.

Now is the best time to start so take action immediately. Easier said than done for those of us who put the PRO in procrastination. But if you sit down to start working and think of a task, start it! Don't wait for "the perfect moment" because there's no such thing. With that being said, start working on the task that you're most likely to procrastinate on first. That way you have the worst part of the work out of the way for a little while.

Eliminate Distractions

This, for me, is way easier said than done. I have an almost-eight-year-old and a six-month-old who require my attention and care, so eliminating distractions isn't exactly possible for me when I'm at home and they're both awake and active. But, when they're both asleep or I'm not at home with them, it is possible for me to keep the distractions at bay.

Turn off your phone. It's a distraction. If you can't turn your phone off for whatever reason - and I understand that there are some - my Apps to Try page lists some mobile apps that work to help you from getting distracted by your phone.

Make Specific Deadlines

Create a timeline for your short-term and long-term goals. I tend to jot down my long-term goals in the front of my Bullet Journal/planner so that they're always with me and I can tick them off as I finish them. If you give yourself a numerical deadline - I will finish this English essay by 7P - than write it down. Anything and everything that will help push you through to finish that assignment, write it down.

Tell Others About Your Goal

You want to be held accountable. You need to be held accountable. Making your goal public will help you. I tell my fiancé about all the work I plan to complete by the end of the night, and he's great at helping me stay on track. Sometimes he's a softie and lets me get away with not completing something by my self-given deadlines, but usually he's pretty good.

So there you go! Hopefully these help you out a little bit. I'm still working on curing my own procrastination, and I fully intend on apply more of these tips to my daily studies.

#tips #advice