Tips for procrastinators!
I know from personal experience that procrastination is a very hard thing to break, especially for chronic procrastinators. To help feed your motivation, here are a few tips!
- Plan ahead: Know what you need to get done, and prioritize it. Do things that have the closest due dates and are the most important first. This doesn’t mean blow off other assignments, but if it isn’t due as soon or isn’t as important, save it for later.
- Write down what you need to do: I personally use a small weekly planner to write down assignments and what I need to remember, but you can find whatever works for you. If it’s a planner or agenda, a calendar, something digital (on your phone or tablet), or anything that helps you, it’s perfect.
- Put away distractions: Put your phone on airplane mode/do not disturb/silent mode (no vibrations either), or even better, turn it off. Go into another room than where things that would normally distract you are.
- Public Studying: This is definitely not for everyone, but sometimes it can help to not be isolated. Try doing work or studying in a local library, coffee shop, cafe, or park. You could even try just being in an open area of your own home, such as the living room or kitchen where others would be.
- Listening to music: This is another thing that may not work for everyone, but many people find that listening to music helps them to focus. I personally recommend instrumental music, as there are no lyrics to distract you, but if you don’t like instrumentals songs I would find songs with lyrics in a language that you aren’t familiar with. This way, there are vocals, but not understanding them will aid in keeping the music distraction-free.
- Make sure you have time for yourself: It’s good to study a lot, and you should work consistently, but take breaks and don’t devote all of your time to working. Take a break every half hour or hour. Stretch, entertain yourself, do what you need to do relax. Be social on the weekends. Go out, see your friends and family, have fun. Just don’t get used to having lots of fun all the time, as you will likely fall back into your procrastination cycle. But make sure you don’t devote your entire life to school either, it’s not necessary at all.
- Reward yourself: Give yourself incentives, such as watching an episode of your favorite show after studying for an hour. I would avoid rewarding yourself with food, as this could lead to unhealthy views of food and eating.
- Take care of your body: Sleep. Eat. Exercise. Hydrate. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is to both your physical and mental health. I would recommend at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Going to bed at a good hour and waking up in the early morning (not like 5 or 6 am, but maybe 8 or 9) is much better than staying up all night and sleeping until noon. Eat a healthy breakfast every day, it helps you feel more alert and improves your focus. Exercise regularly, even if it’s just taking a walk a few times a week. You don’t need to join a gym and work out and run marathons, but some light cardio or aerobics is great for your body. Yoga is also very good. Remember to keep yourself hydrated. I always keep a water bottle in my bag at school. Try to avoid sodas, energy drinks, and sports drinks. They aren’t good for you at all. I drink water more often than anything else, but natural juice, milk, and even coffee or tea is great.
I hope these tips are helpful, and happy studying!
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