"How to Stop Procrastinating - Backed by Science"

 

If you're anything like me, overcoming procrastination is a never-ending uphill battle—a nearly impossible undertaking. It's far too simple to pick up my phone and cruise through social media. Or, go into the kitchen and get a bite.

People delay for a variety of reasons, including poor study habits and a desire to avoid unpleasant emotions. The first step in learning how to quit procrastinating is identifying the cause. When you understand why you procrastinate, you can address the individual causes to reduce the likelihood of procrastination.

Assess your habits.

The most popular belief and prevailing theory is that procrastinators lack discipline and prefer enjoyable activities and relaxation over hard work. But students are working. Even if we don't include the 6-8 hours of school, many students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities such as volunteering, additional coursework, sports, music, and work.

Procrastination does not indicate a lack of motivation to work; rather, it indicates a lack of adequate procedures and study habits.

To determine whether you need a better system, ask yourself the following questions:

Do I have a structure in place to help me manage my most critical assignments, such as projects, papers, and exam preparation?

Am I letting obligations and work define my calendar, or am I deciding where and when to devote my time and energy?

Setting out a specified time for a project or assignment every day will help you develop better habits and methods. Set a timer for as many minutes as you can focus, even if it's only five at a time. Slowly extend that time each day, until you're working for an hour or more if necessary.

Furthermore, if possible, work at the same time every day to establish a habit. Then it will be easier to get started.

Strategically Craft Work Sessions

It can also be advantageous to work while you are most aware. For example, if you know you're more of a night owl, set out thirty minutes to an hour each night to concentrate on your history assignment.

If you are a morning person, scheduling personal study time can be difficult because school frequently interferes. As a morning person, I opted to go to bed early and wake up at 5 a.m. throughout high school so that I could get in a couple of hours of solid work before school began.

For major jobs, such as papers, consider reverse engineering your schedule. Work backwards from the deadline to establish personal deadlines for your outline, draft, corrections, and final product. This can be difficult because teachers tend to provide more time for long-term tasks (which means more time to delay). One way I approach this is to adjust my perspective: what can I do now that my future self will appreciate?

Assess your emotions

Often, I don't postpone a task because it's impossible or The Hardest Task. And this is because the task makes me feel a specific way, eliciting undesirable emotions. Perhaps you have a hatred against Calculus (like I do!) or despise Hamlet to the core. Perhaps statistics is a snooze. Whether the assignment causes stress, worry, boredom, or disgust, the final result is the same: you will feel overwhelmed, annoyed, or uncertain. And in this state, even the most basic activities can seem daunting.

To determine whether your emotions are leading you to postpone, ask yourself the following questions.

How's my mental health?

What feelings do my homework and school assignments elicit in me? Do they

 cause me to feel frustrated, bored, resentful, or overwhelmed?

Sometimes you just need to rest and care for your body and mind! If your negative emotions are interfering with your ability to do homework tasks, take a moment to assess how much they are affecting your performance on a scale of 1 to 10. From there, you can try to address each emotion.

If a task causes you anxiety, start small. Start a PowerPoint presentation, jot down some general notes on a book, or solve the simplest problem on the page. If it bores you, time yourself, applying just enough pressure to require your full concentration to accomplish the activity in the time allotted without becoming stressed. If it makes you angry or frustrated, attempt to identify any aspects that you do like. Alternatively, divide the task into smaller, less stressful chunks.

Grab a buddy

Building habits is difficult! It requires consistency and perseverance, and it can be more challenging when you're doing it alone. Working alongside a friend proved to be extremely beneficial for me, and I continue to do so in graduate school. Structuring paired work time around your needs can be incredibly efficient at increasing your productivity.

For example, my friend and I will meet (at a predetermined time) at a coffee shop to get a caffeinated to-go beverage. Following that, we'll proceed to either the library, practice rooms, or other peaceful spaces to work. We share our work session goals during setup and before beginning work. Perhaps I want to complete studying a piece, start writing an article, or respond to emails that I've been putting off. Then we start working! Following that, we'll talk about what we've accomplished and where we still need to improve.

Taking a drink before starting is a nice "start" signal in my mind. I know that once I have that beverage, the following few hours will be spent maintaining a steady focus. If you dislike caffeinated beverages or do not want to spend money, you can substitute alternate "start" markers. I also utilize the following "start signals":

Light a candle.
Putting on low-fi music
Wearing certain outfits.
Sitting in a space intended solely for work

It is critical to communicate goals before beginning work. It helps you to voice your goals and adds just the right amount of pressure to hold you accountable. You'd be shocked how much more productive we are when the conclusion is in sight!

The last debrief serves as my personal "end" marker. This indicates to my brain that the concentrate period has ended. Verbalizing my accomplishments and unfulfilled work allows me to better comprehend what I done and what I still need to do.

There are many reasons why people procrastinate, but they rarely indicate a weakness in a student's character or discipline. Instead, they emphasize the necessity for structure, healthy habits, and excellent health. With time and effort, these strategies can help you reduce procrastination. Furthermore, they can help you create healthy habits throughout your academic career and beyond.