Papers are piling up and Netflix is calling; it’s that time of year when we’ve all lost our motivation. The days are shorter. The assignments are harder. The stores of enthusiasm are gone. There’re seven things we do when we’re pretending to be productive:
- Checking Our Inboxes: If we’re already online, why not just quickly check our email? It’ll only take a minute and then that’s one less thing to do later. Clicking the delete button is on the way to writing the paper due at the end of the week. And while we’re already deleting, we should just go through all of the old emails: get rid of the expired coupons and the emails from freshman year professors. Forty-five minutes later, you have an uncluttered inbox, but only the heading on your paper.
- Laundry: This is most effective productive distraction because it isn’t just a one-time interruption. You have to switch over each load, pull out the non-dryer friendly clothes, fold, hang, and put it all away. There is also no reason to do anything in between all of the laundry activities of these constant disruptions. Best thing to do is put on your Netflix binge show and watch while you fold.
- Napping: Mental health is as important as physical health. So when we begin to feel overwhelmed, the best thing to do is take a quick nap. Blinds shut and blankets on, a light snooze will rejuvenate us so we can study hard when we wake up. When the alarm clock blares, a quick bartering session occurs. Just five more minutes and then all of the reading will get done tonight (because of how refreshed the nap will make us). In reality, we lay there for another half hour, then blearily wade to the cold desk to crack open a book that we stare blankly at for 10 minutes before calling it quits and going back to our warm bed.
- Working Out: If I get my body moving, my brain will have to follow. It’s just the jumpstart we need in order to get all our schoolwork done. But first, a half-hour spent hitting the gym before hitting the books. Inevitably, you run into a friend or the guy on the machine you’re waiting for takes another 10 minutes or you’re ready to add another ten pounds to your lift, and that quick trip to the gym turns into an hour and a half of heavy sweating. And of course, then you have to go home, shower, and make a protein shake—another hour gone being productive.
- Cleaning: There is no way you can study when your room is messy. The socks under your bed are past smelly and have moved to disgusting. A hairball the size of a baby squirrel has taken up residence in the corner. Dishes litter the floor, and there’s so much dust you could write your paper in it. A thorough cleaning is what you need—clear the literal cobwebs from the room in order to clear the cobwebs from your brain! Break out the Lysol and Swiffer—it’s time to procrastinate.
- Organizing: Those Tupperware containers in the kitchen cabinets definitely need to be reordered. The sock drawer is overflowing. The clothes piled up in the corner need to be sorted (and hopefully need to be washed). Organizing is a useful distraction from the work lurking on your now immaculately ordered desk. And of course, you need to get all of that work organized, divided, and ordered by importance and due date before you can truly focus on getting it done.
- Eating: Whether you’re grazing or gourmet, food is always the best distraction. It can also take as much time as needed. A quick meal is what should be opted for, but going somewhere or making a meal with friends is also a mental break for the stressed out mind. And the most delicious!
No matter your preferred preference on procrastination, you can’t avoid the lure of taking a break. We’re all a part of #procrastinationnation.
