As university students, procrastination is second nature to us all. It is quite literally impossible to revise solidly without getting distracted and many students blame their grades on their over-procrastination.
Procrastination is essentially a form of avoidance and can be done in a variety of ways, whether you opt for obvious procrastination like online shopping and watching New Girl or sneaky procrastination like colouring in a revision timetable or organising your highlighters. As real victims to revision deferment, the HC UEA team have a few tips help you to focus:
Get organised
Organisation is essential for preventing procrastination as it clears the mind. Try to maintain a clear room, formulate a ‘to do’ list and keep to a rough time schedule.
Simplification
We have all been guilty of underestimating the difficulty of a subject, making a half-hearted attempt at understanding it and then giving up, turning to a chocolate bar and an episode of FRIENDS for comfort. The trick is simple, break down all of your subjects into small chunks that are easier for your brain to digest. It will not only be a much more effective use of your time but it will also prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
Regular breaks
Too many people frown upon ‘revision breaks’ regarding them as a lazy attempt at procrastination when in fact they are crucial to your success. Regular breaks are necessary to keep you motivated, focused and awake. In order to get the most out of your revision break, we suggest having a 20 minute break every hour and a half and filling that break with fresh air, light exercise and refreshment. This will not only keep your awake and alert but it will also stop you from getting a headache from staring at your laptop screen for too long.
Allotted procrastination
Everyone is going to step away from their work at some point and it is silly to set yourself strict rules to work 24/7 as you will not be able to keep them. Whether your guilty pleasure is gossiping with your housemates, watching ‘Sex and the City’ or browsing the Topshop website, allow yourself a certain amount of hours a day to indulge yourself in whatever you do to procrastinate. It will prevent you from getting distracted when you are actually working and will improve your mood considerably.