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Student Life

How to Actually Get Things Done

Don't let procrastination consume you.

18
How to Actually Get Things Done
dailybreak.com

With the amount of schoolwork that students are given, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.

But, with time that we are allotted, it flies by pretty fast- and even faster when you're not getting anything done.

Something that tends to take up a lot of that time is procrastination.

Procrastination.

Oh, what a powerful word. It's something that many, many people have to deal with on a daily basis. A mental idea that seems to just waste time away.

But, you can save your precious time by trying out these three tips that may just help you actually get work done, so you don't throw your whole day away and end up working all through the late night.

1. Treat Yourself

Literally, treat yourself.

For instance, if you have an assignment that requires tedious work and takes up a good amount of time, give yourself a little motivation. Something to look forward to-try finding your guilty pleasure, it may be watching an episode of your favorite Netflix show or treating yourself with your favorite junk food. The possibilities are endless. The little rewards at the end of the day may just be the spark of motivation that you need. Small rewards at the end of the day are essential in a stressful day, because it makes the long day of hard work bearable and worth it.

2. Set a Timer

Now, this is something that helps me get many things done.

By simply setting a timer on your phone, you're limiting yourself on how much time you can spend on an assignment. Of course, you want to complete the work to the best of your potential, so you always want to set it to a reasonable time. There's something about knowing that you're limited on time that pushes you to get it done. I can also sense myself getting competitive when I do this, because it's basically like you're racing against the clock ;and to make it even better, when you do beat the clock- the satisfaction is extremely glorifying.

If you're skeptical about this and feel like you'd just set a new timer- just give it a try. You'll be surprised at how you actually want to get it done in the time that you gave yourself which results in you getting straight to work once the timer begins.

And to even let you in on a little secret- I actually set a timer for this article.

It really does help.

3. Step Away From Your Phone

Social media seems to be the biggest distraction now.

So much time is spent responding to Snapchats to keep the streaks, scrolling through Twitter looking at memes or just going through your recent Instagram feed.

This is something that I'm definitely guilty of.

A way to deal with this is by putting your phone on Do Not Disturb which halts notifications, alerts and calls from making any noise, vibrations or lighting up the phone screen when your phone is locked.

And if that's not enough and you're still distracted, try putting your phone on airplane mode. This turns off cellular connection and data- which means you can't really do anything on your phone.

If you're still tempted to turn those modes off, I have one more idea for you.

Try leaving your phone in another room.

I do this sometimes, when I'm doing work in our floor lobby and I leave it in my dorm room.

By doing this, you have no other option but to do work.

Of course, these are all just ideas and you have to alter them to fit your daily schedule.

But, hopefully now we can all try to beat procrastination.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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