These are my confessions. I have a to-do list of about ten things to do, including writing this article. This is the first task I’m initiating any progress on and I’m reaching word count thirty-two at 3:16 AM Friday morning. After all this idle time, I gained miscellaneous knowledge from YouTube videos about Solange’s writing process, listened to a diverse array of music, scrolled through Facebook, and wrote a lackluster (though heartfelt) poem.
What I like to call “procrastinator’s remorse” set in gradually, starting around midnight. At that point, it was a very subtle voice, gnawing at my consciousness, saying, “Danari, close that YouTube tab.” Around 3 AM, however, my procrastinator’s remorse closed in on my fragile, sleep-deprived mental state with wrecking ball force. I thought, "Oh, crap." Suddenly, the countless minutes I lost flashed before my eyes in high definition. I felt awful.
I looked up and, in my melodrama, asked God what I thought was a rhetorical question: What is my problem?
In response, I felt like He was saying, “Danari, you’re going to drop the ball sometimes. We’ll working on your discipline. But your automatic response can’t be to put yourself down. That’s not productive. Let’s move forward.” So I got to thinking, I’m definitely down to go on this anti-procrastinating journey, but there are some ways that I can spare myself the self-inflicted emotional backlash that comes from guilt. Here’s what I came up with:
1. Compartmentalize
Yes, I suck at time management. But no, I don’t suck at everything. If someone you love is easily distracted, you’re not likely to devalue their entire being, even for a moment. Not mentally, not verbally. So be careful with the way you talk yourself. Affirm your good qualities and be realistic about the ways you can improve.
2. Move Forward From The Moment
There is a moment where you realize it’s late, your pupils dilate, and a sense of urgency regarding your studies finally kicks in. Don’t bother wondering where that urgency was two hours prior. Now is the time to get it. Don’t linger on the time wasted. Just abruptly close your Netflix tab, rip your earphones out, go to the library, and assume #grindmode. You’ll be tired when you’re done, but you’ll have the satisfaction of being able to say you were productive despite a rough start.
3. Plan For The Future
After your initial efforts to compensate for all the time spent procrastinating, get some rest. After that, however, it’s time to reflect. What’s hindering your productivity? Whatever it is, remove it from your study environment. Be it a person, the internet, or proximity to your bed, do what you have to do. Do you need to make a schedule? No? Make one anyway. For me, it helps to be accountable for every minute, to estimate in advance how much time a task will take and try to stick to that limit. Given, I don’t really do that. But I’m going to start.
4. Adopt An Accountability Buddy
Not someone who makes you laugh or always has a story to tell. Find a super type-A, task-oriented, linear-thinking person who possesses an agenda that could make a Pinterest-lover cry. Make that person your study buddy. They’ll kick your butt when they see you distracted. Tell them in advance that you’re weak for social media and that you’ll come up with any excuse to go get a snack, so they can call you out.
5. Go To Sleep
Sometimes, when the damage is done, you need to just call it a night. After a certain point, your brain is no good, depending of the amount of sleep you’re working with. At that point, you may want to see if you can rest a bit and wake up in time to make progress on your assignments. Forging new habits is good, but we’re not in the business of depriving our bodies of sleep as punishment for procrastinating.
