Is procrastination holding you back? Causing anxiety and stress? Negatively impacting your grades? These tips might help.
Your instructor announces that a huge project is due in exactly one month. “A month is plenty of time to get everything done,” you say to yourself. You work some late shifts, spend time with family and have a few fun weekends. Before you know it, the project is due, and you have nothing completed. You make a promise to yourself that next time you will start sooner… but the cycle repeats itself.
Procrastination is a problem that 85-90 percent of college students struggle with. And if you feel like it’s holding you back, you might be right: research about academic procrastination shows that it can lead to stress and anxiety and even a lower GPA.
To break the cycle, consider these 10 tips:
Create a to-do list on paper, online or through an app such as Wunderlist or Todoist. As you complete each task, cross it off. This helps with organization and looking back at the list allows you to see how much you have accomplished.
Big projects can be daunting and time-consuming. To make large projects simpler, break them down into a series of small tasks instead of attempting to tackle everything at once. This will make the process less overwhelming.
If your to-do list is filled with dreaded activities, complete the most difficult one first. Getting started is often the hardest part, but once you begin, the task will seem less intimidating. This will also eliminate any anxiety related to the task that you would otherwise be carrying with you throughout the day.
Breaks are helpful in completing assignments as they allow you to recharge. Eat a snack, scroll through social media feeds, or simply lay down and relax for ten minutes. Set a timer on your phone to keep track of the time and get back to work immediately when it is over.
If you can’t resist snapping pictures for social media accounts or binge-watching your favourite show, remove these distractions. Power down the cell phone and the television while you work. Allow yourself to indulge during scheduled breaks.
A best friend or a significant other that doubles as a study buddy may lead to more distractions than completed work. Working with a partner from class or even a tutor can be helpful for both course advice and staying on track.
In some cases, procrastination is caused by a need for perfection. You may feel as if every sentence needs to be perfect, so you waste hours thinking of ideal phrases and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day. To get over this hurdle, write a rough draft for everything first so that your thoughts are recorded. Allow yourself to make corrections only after the entire draft is completed.
Time set aside for completing projects may get interrupted by emergencies, illness, work or other pressing deadlines. Be prepared for setbacks by regularly practising good time management skills, which will allow you to set aside multiple days for study time.
The biggest key to ending the cycle of procrastination is understanding why you do it. Whether it’s a lack of motivation or a fear of failure, once you know why you procrastinate, you can discover additional ways to break the cycle.
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