You have tons of deadlines looming. However, instead of concentrating on your work, you may be doing sundry things like checking social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and so on. We know we should be doing work but we simply put off doing it for various reasons: being distracted by social media, not knowing what to tackle first, waiting for the “right” time to do something and so on. We procrastinate too often. However, don’t let it take over your life. In this article, I will offer some tips that I found useful in keeping me from procrastinating, and I believe some or all of these tips will also work for you!
1. Divide large tasks into manageable parts
Many a times, I feel that the works I need to do is overwhelming, and hence I just put off doing everything. Then, I tried breaking them down into small parts and focusing on one thing at a time. It works! It often feels overwhelming to look at the whole complex task, but when you start doing it you’ill realize that it’s not that hard to get it done. Once you’ve finished even just a small step of the task, you’ll be motivated to continue doing it until it’s done. Yay!
2. Create specific deadlines
This is something you should do along with breaking your work into little steps. Knowing what to do is great, but you also have to make sure that you will get things done on time. Therefore, while breaking your work into detailed steps, you should set a specific deadline for each step, too. It can be as simple as get A done before 8 pm, then get B done before 9.30 pm. When you do so, you will more likely be pushed to have your work done on time. Just remember that, the more SPECIFIC your goals are, the EASIER it is for you to achieve them.
Different environments have different effects on your productivity. Try changing your environment. Is your desk always messy? Try tidying it for a day to see how it may affect your studying. Do you always stay in the reading room of the library to study? Try going somewhere else and see where you like the best: the stacks in the library, the LRC in Ciruti, the music library in Pratt, or even the computer room right in your dorm. When you have found your favorite place, stick to it. When you stop feeling like being there, pack your stuff and go to another place. Choose the space that makes you feel inspired, even if just for a short period of time.
4. Get rid of the distractions around you
5. Visualize the future you want
I hope these tips help you in some way to get rid of the habit of procrastinating. I am sure you have other useful tips, so please feel free to share yours with other readers and us by commenting below.
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