As college students, we are bound to procrastinate, whether this is writing an essay or studying for an upcoming exam. I'm guilty of procrastinating, but as I've gotten older, I began to notice that I take procrastination too far at times.
In high school, my motto was to get things done as soon as I got home so I didn't have to worry about them later, and I was good at it. I was proud at how I instantly could sit down, pick up a pen, and put answers onto paper. For some reason, however, this didn't fully follow me to college.
In college, assignments couldn't always be completed in one day. Most assignments take me about three to five days, but once I began the cycle of doing things a day or two before they were due, it never stopped. I convinced myself that "I'll start tomorrow" until I ran out of tomorrows, I think that because I always somehow managed to complete whatever it is that I planned to do is why I continue to procrastinate. Because I tell myself that I'll always get the job done, I won't actually start it.
For instance, during finals week this past semester, I had three exams on back to back days, yet I didn't start studying until the WEEK OF all three exams. It was probably one of the worst decisions I've ever made in my life, and it was also probably one of the most traumatic weeks of my life. Let me tell you, attempting to learn five different body systems in two days is just not it.
As a new semester beckons, I made it a goal for myself to break down bigger tasks into smaller ones. I have to physically write down what I hope to accomplish each day, one week at a time. Breaking down tasks makes them seem more obtainable even though I may not finish them all in one day, and when I finish one task at a time, I get to cross them off of my list, and it feels so good. I also go to do work at the library or at the computer labs because if I'm in my dorm room, I'll get too comfortable and nothing will get done.
Slowly, I'm working towards developing better study habits and work ethic. My goal is to make it so that I no longer have to cram and that by doing things a step at a time, I'll enjoy doing them more. By the end of the semester, maybe I'll no longer be a professional procrastinator.
