The semester is nearly over and procrastination levels are off the charts. That’s right–freedom is almost here, but the road to freedom is paved with plenty of sleepless nights and regret over our decision to neglect our duties.
I’m supposed to be reading for one of my classes, but instead I’m here–writing about procrastinating while procrastinating.
The truth is that we procrastinate because we fear failure. We’re perfectionists, and we have a tendency to focus on the small details. We fear that we’ll mess up a little and then some more, and we will because that’s life.
Though we may push our responsabilities out of sight, we can’t let the cookie-eating, couch-potato monster of procrastination control our lives. What can we do? It’s quite easy, really.
1. Devote half an hour to your homework and then give yourself a small reward. Allow yourself to have a cookie or watch an episode of your favorite TV show. The goal is the small reward, but to reach it, you need to actually buckle down and get your academic responsibilities over with.
2. Be aware of your behavior. Because it is our way of avoiding unpleasant tasks, it is easy to slip into procrastination. Because human beings are selfish, we think about what will bring us instant gratification, knowing that homework won’t be one of them. It is therefore important to increase the awareness of what we’re doing.
3. Turn off all electronic devices. Seriously. Is there anything more distracting than a new message pinging into your mailbox? Or a Facebook notification suddenly popping up on your screen? In fact, it can be so tempting to check your phone that we’ll tell ourselves anything–especially that we’ll only take five minutes. Before we know it, those five minutes turn into five hours. Then comes the post-procrastination guilt and, trust me, you don’t want any of it.
4. Meditate. If you find that you simply cannot quiet the thoughts running through your head, the best advice I can give you is to meditate. Just take 10 minutes for yourself. Don’t think about anything or anyone. Listen to the soothing voice coming through your speakers, advising you to slow down.
5. Be compassionate with yourself. Sometimes procrastination stems from stress and anxiety (of course, I speak from experience). Take a moment to understand what exactly is making you procrastinate. Even if introspection doesn’t work, the least you can do is take a timeout. Listen to some music and lie back.
Even if none of the above works, just remember that when a deadline is fast approaching, the pressure will spur you out of your inactivity.