If you're anything like myself or some of my close friends who are now back in classes for the spring semester of college, this is a very vulnerable time for us.
What I mean is that we can easily fall behind on our work so early on by procrastinating and the work will start to build up on top of more work. I let this happen all too often and I'd like to stay up to date so that I'm less stressed.
I've come up with 3 things that I've tried so far that have worked for me either in the past or now since I'm taking 5 classes and they're all online.
1. Complete a given amount of assignments per day.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
If you use an agenda book, make sure to write down all assignments for throughout the week on the days that they're due. Once you've done that, pay attention to how many assignments you have per day. If the total is only 1-2 a day, then give yourself 2-3 days in advance before the days that those assignments are due to get them done with your best work put forward.
If I have 2 assignments due on a given day, I'm going to give myself at LEAST 3 days in advance before the due date to complete them. This way, I can thoroughly think them through, study the material, and apply what I know with good note taking and paying attention to what I've read.
2. Color code your school supplies.
Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash
This may seem silly, but when I go out to purchase class materials like notebooks, binders, colorful pens, and folders, I'm much more motivated to actually use them because they're so aesthetically pleasing to me with their colors and beautiful designs. I also went out of my way to buy cute school supplies so if I spent the money on them, then there's that much more of a reason to also use them.
When I think of my school subjects, I try to assign them colors. Blue, purple, green, red, orange, etc. Based on that, I'll dedicate a pen color to those classes and use that to write down assignments for them in my (cute) agenda book. I have 2 separate agenda books, one for work (2 part-time jobs need to be kept track of), and one for classes. I even color code my work schedules. It makes it not only more fun but easy and relaxing.
3. Reward yourself time after time.
I know I'm going to have days where the entire day needs to be dedicated to schoolwork. On days that I don't work one of my jobs, it's crucial for me to get as much schoolwork and studying out of the way as possible.
It's tempting to take an extended, calculated break after either reading a full chapter and taking notes for it, finishing writing a paper, completing a quiz/module exam, etc. I know for me, I need to be careful how much time I let myself have access to my phone for since 5 minutes can turn into 10, 15, or more.
It's a good idea to get done 2-3 assignments at a time before allowing for a break. This way, your break can be extended to about 25-30 minutes where you can be on your phone, make food or a snack, get a drink, etc. I find that I get a lot more done when I let my brain have time to relax and not stare at a computer screen and lots of terms and people and ideas from a textbook. This makes for a more personally satisfying, real-time break and amount of effort put forward.
Though these are only 3 ideas, there's much more that can be done in order to prevent procrastination. Make sure your phone is on "Do not disturb" mode, put it away and on silent, don't do homework on your bed because it's your body's way of thinking it's time to sleep, etc. You could go find lists of things to try and make yourself do in order to stay on top of schoolwork, but these 3 things are a good start and are ensured to get you onto a better track.
