Everyone procrastinates. It’s a fact. Whether it's binge-watching Netflix all night or going out with your friends on a Tuesday, we have all put off our work in order to have a little fun in college. It’s hard not to procrastinate every day, but there are strategies that can help limit the amount you do.
- Set goals for the week on Sundays. Take advantage of not having parties or classes to attend, and make Sunday a productive day. Set small goals you want to meet by the end of the week and make sure to write them down where they will be visible to you.
- Tell your roommate about that big exam you have on Wednesday. Having someone else to keep you accountable for your actions will help keep you on track. Help each other out by making sure you both get the work done and not save it all for the last minute.
- Only let yourself go out during the week if you have completed everything due for the next two days. The day after going out on a Tuesday night is probably spent sleeping in and not being productive. If you know ahead of time that Thursday is a big day, it is probably not wise to go out before that. In order to keep yourself from leaving everything for Wednesday night, stay in on Tuesday to get some of your work done. Feeling the pressure of having everything due the next day and being hungover is not a fun combination for anyone.
- Reserve a study room days ahead. Making a reservation for a study room days before something is due will create a more stress-free environment. This is especially helpful when writing papers. If you aren’t waiting till the night before to write the paper, you will be less likely to get writer's block. Putting ideas down on paper and not feeling as though you need to organize them right away will help take away some of the pressure a major paper gives you.
- Keep a planner. By your junior year, you will know for sure that you are at your most organized when you are actively using your planner. Keeping major due dates and exam times in the monthly part of the planner helps to see how much time you have to complete an assignment. Using the day-by-day portion of the planner makes it easier to balance work or meetings with the specific homework you have for that day. The faster you learn how to use a planner, the more successful you will be in college.
- Limit your Netflix time. This may be the hardest thing to do. Everyone knows the feeling of being addicted to a TV show and only wanting to binge-watch. Netflix can be a procrastinator’s worst nightmare. But if you use it in collaboration with your school work, it can become a reward. Instead of watching two episodes in a row, limit yourself to one at a time with a study break in between. Make yourself really focus for as long as you can and then reward yourself with an episode of "Scandal."
- Clean your room. Your room often reflects your life. If it is so messy that you can’t even see the ground, you probably have a lot going on in your life. Now, sometimes cleaning your room can be used as a procrastination tool, but if there was ever a good type of procrastination, cleaning your room is it.
With all that being said, if you are reading this article, you are most likely procrastinating something. Try and implement these tips into your daily habits. Remember that the best way to fight procrastination is by making sure you don’t look only at what is due the next day. Stay on top of your work and try to keep yourself as organized as possible. If you learn to balance work and play, life will become much more stress-free.
