Procrastination. It's an unfortunate occurrence that infects millions of students from grade school to college, and I am no exception. Don't get me wrong, I love school and I try very hard to get good grades, but working up the motivation to get started on the loads of papers, projects, and study guides can be very tedious, and finding the strength to push past the desire to procrastinate is a challenge that many people young and old, not particularly just students, have to face.
According to Psychology Today, roughly 20% of people identify themselves as procrastinators. This can range in anything from holding off on doing homework and studying until the day before it is due or the day before a test, to waiting to go grocery shopping until you have absolutely no food. I know that I've been there before. More often than I would like to admit, I find myself wandering over to Netflix while trying to do my online assignment, or holding off on grocery shopping because I don't feel like driving all the way to Target and spending more money than I was intending to (#TargetProbs). With that being said, I always come to regret my decision, as I end up frantically doing my assignment and living off of my remaining Easy Mac.
Now, I know that most of us have busy lives and have argued that it is simply impossible to do everything we are supposed to. Hey, the college years are hectic, and don't I know it. As I am now in my fourth year, I have learned some helpful tips that I wish I would've understood sooner. For instance, I am a huge fan of the planner. And no, I don't have a fancy Lilly Pulitzer planner (though I have to talk myself out of getting one every year). Most schools have some available in the school bookstore for a very low price, and some are even free! When you write everything down and look at it throughout the day, it will get you into the habit of doing things as they are assigned, which help to solve the pesky procrastination problem.
The biggest enabler of procrastination is getting into the mindset of "oh, I can do this later. It's not due until next week, anyway." DO NOT GET INTO THAT MINDSET. Before you know it, a week has come and gone and you're less than 24 hours away from your deadline. I've found that writing all of your assignments and events down in my planner is incredibly helpful, and personally, it has helped me to stay motivated and on top of my schoolwork.
Another helpful tip that I've learned when it comes to studying, and though it is a tough one, is turning my phone off. It helps me to stay focused, so that I'm not checking it every few minutes. I've also noticed that it helps me finish my assignments quicker, because I don't have that added distraction.
Any way you procrastinate, it eventually leads to regret and even more procrastination. So the next time you wait until the last possible second to do your part of the group project or to do your giant load of laundry, remember that it's going to have to be done at some point, so better now than later! It's easier than you think to turn off Netflix and finish up what needs to be done, though it is tempting. But at the end of the day, when everything has been accomplished, "Grey's Anatomy" will still be there waiting for you. I promise.
