“Procrastinator” is a word that many of us use to describe ourselves. We’re not proud of it, but it’s a hard habit to break. Tomorrow is the best day to do anything! There’s nothing we can’t do tomorrow!
Getting things started early (so that you can finish them on time!) is tough. When you have a project that’s due a couple weeks from now, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking that you’ve got all the time in the world to finish it. Then, suddenly the due date is staring you in the face and you haven’t even started yet.
However, I come bearing the good news that if you’re stuck in the rut of procrastination, you’ve got a fighting chance! Here are five ways to help you beat procrastination and start getting things done today!
1. Treat Yourself
When there’s no foreseeable reward at the end of some mundane task (like writing that boring paper you’ve been putting off!), it can be hard to want to get started. Making a deal with yourself in which you get to indulge after finishing something can be a great motivator! When you finish something, be it a paper, a reading, a project, or even studying, treat yourself with an episode of your favourite TV show, a favourite snack, a quiet night in, or a night out on the town! Anything that you enjoy is fair game. Withholding these from yourself until you finish something will help you work faster, and make you want to get started earlier so you can finally have your reward.
2. Make Lists
Making a to-do list can work wonders in getting rid of procrastination. Often, we are reluctant to start things because the sheer volume of work intimidates us, and it feels impossible to finish. Making a list of everything that you have to do can help you organize yourself and make the work less intimidating. Checking items off a list feels great, and when it’s complete, you feel like you’ve really accomplished something. Plus, sitting for a moment and making your list can help you remember some things you might have been forgetting about!
3. Keep a Calendar or Agenda
Breaking up your work into smaller chunks to complete over a longer amount of time can be very helpful in getting things started sooner. If you keep a calendar or agenda and write in a specific portion of an assignment to do each day until it is due, it will feel like there’s less work to be done, and the pressure will be really diluted! For instance, if you have a paper due in one week, schedule time to write one or two paragraphs every day. You might even get things handed in early!
4. Work With Friends
Working together on things keeps you accountable to the other members of your group or team. They’re counting on you to hold up your end, and procrastination is a sure-fire way to let them down. If you aren’t doing group work, you can still have a friend help keep you accountable by asking them to proofread your work (you’ll have to finish at least a little bit before the due to have time to do this), or to send you daily reminders to get to work!
5. Prioritize
Prioritizing your work is a simple and effective way to get the most important, most urgent things done first. Organize everything you need to do into four categories: important and urgent, important and not urgent, unimportant and urgent, unimportant and not urgent. Then, try and complete them in that order (or approximately that order—the middle two items can be interchanged as you please), starting with the things that are the most important and most urgent. That way, those things get finished early, and you might even have some extra time at the end!