It is that time of year again. The holidays are quickly approaching and every professor is piling on paper after paper. There is no escaping that mountain of work sitting on your desk, and it seems never ending. With all of those sales and holiday tunes, who has the time to even begin thinking about getting work done? Not me, that’s for sure! Procrastination….it is a devil in disguise and we all fall victim to it. It seems inescapable because many of us get trapped in its time wasting clutches. We convince ourselves we have plenty of time when in fact every second we aren’t doing our work is precious time lost. Mastering preventing procrastination will take lots of self-control and convincing, but it’s not entirely impossible. Here are a few tips and tricks I have learned to avoid this black cloud that lurks above us.
1. Don’t try to tackle everything at once. This is something very important to remember. If you begin to think about everything that needs to be done and try to achieve it all in one day you’ll end up with nothing. A struggle is ticking off those countless to-do lists you have on your fridge or the post it notes on your computer. That is counterproductive because you can become so overwhelmed by it all that no work is produced let alone finished. Take it day by day.Do not push yourself past your limits because all you will end up doing is unnecessarily stressing yourself out. Start your paper or project early and do a little bit.
2. Take breaks. This is a must. Working nonstop all day or night will purely leave you with a headache. You need to be able to take a second for yourself and breathe. Trying to do it all at once will just make procrastination more likely to happen. Give yourself at least a 5 to 10 minute break in between. It’s just enough time to recharge and clear your head so you don’t get too off track. The transition back into your studying or paper writing is also much smoother with a small break.
3. Reward yourself. This is a great form of motivation. Setting a goal, accomplishing it and then delving into time to enjoy yourself will keep you on top of things. There needs to be a balance between getting things done and taking time for you. Both are necessary in order to be happy and productive. Sometimes it may seem like you can’t afford to have any you time but that’s usually when you need it the most. If you’re not thinking clearly you won’t be doing your best. So run that bubble bath, turn up the music and have that glass of wine! Know when to move on.
One main reason procrastination sneaks up on us is because we dwell on things we don’t understand. If you’re having trouble, set the assignment aside, and work on something else. Usually when you give yourself a break from a difficult task it’s easier to come back to because your thoughts become clearer. Follow these few simple tips that come from an experienced procrastinator and you’ll be surprised at how successful you can be!