September 2016

Procrastination; everyone has dealt with it, and for most people, it is a bad habit that they just can’t get past. It is a very understandable problem to have. I mean, who wouldn’t rather lounge around and watch an entire season of “The Office” than do their math homework? But there are ways to fight that urge to be lazy and actually get done what you need to get done. If you follow these few easy tips then you will be able to meet all those deadlines you have, and then you can reward yourself with a little binge watching on Netflix.

Procrastination; everyone has dealt with it, and for most people, it is a bad habit that they just can’t get past. It is a very understandable problem to have. I mean, who wouldn’t rather lounge around and watch an entire season of “The Office” than do their math homework? But there are ways to fight that urge to be lazy and actually get done what you need to get done. If you follow these few easy tips then you will be able to meet all those deadlines you have, and then you can reward yourself with a little binge watching on Netflix.

The first step toward living a procrastination-free self is having a day planner or an agenda. Writing everything down makes you realize what all needs to be done and it also keeps you organized which can help make you feel less stressed, so you can get more done. Sometimes when you are thinking about everything coming up, it can be a little overwhelming. But if you write it down, it will make you feel more control and it will usually feel like a lot less once you write it down then when you are going over your schedule in your head. Once it becomes a habit, you will feel much more on top of things and you will be less likely to put the important things off.

The second step to ending procrastination is breaking down what you have to do. The main cause of procrastination is stress. As humans, if something is stressing us out, most of the time we decide to put it off and say things like, “Oh, I’ll do that later.” or “I don’t necessarily have to deal with this right now.” But if we break what we have to do down into smaller, more manageable steps, we will be more likely to complete the project. For example, cleaning your room can seem like an impossible task sometimes. But if you made a checklist of things you have to do to get that done, it wouldn’t seem as scary. You could make a list of things like, put shoes away, vacuum the floor, make the bed, etc. It is a great feeling checking something off the list, and knowing you are being productive and getting what you need to do done.

The third step to procrastinate procrastination is rewarding you. Once you finish that essay you had to write for English class, reward yourself by watching an episode of your favorite show, or get a snack. You have to be careful when doing this because you can’t allow your reward to get in the way of you completing your other responsibilities. But when you have something to look forward to, even if it’s something small, you are more likely to finish whatever you are working on so you can get that treat.

Avoiding procrastination can save you a lot of stress, and you will find that you still have time to do the things you want to do after you are done with what you need to complete. Once you begin doing things before the last minute, you will realize that you are a lot more relaxed, you will get more sleep, and in turn, you will be in a much better mood. So let’s all make the decision to quit procrastinating and make ourselves better students, and overall, just better human beings.