Procrastination is my Bane

Yes, the dreaded P-word that all students are guilty of at some point in their educational careers. That word is, of course, “Procrastination”. In other words, the deadly disease known as “laziness” or the “plague of the foolish”. We all know that feeling when a deadline is approaching and we keep thinking “I need to finish this, time is almost up! I need to finish this!!!” We prepare, we sit down to do it, but then we get distracted and we don’t use our time wisely and we think “Hey, I’ve got plenty of time…”.

Yes, it’s time for me to come clean (for the past day or so) I’ve been diagnosed with this disease and in fact, I feel as though I have committed a crime upon myself. Fact is, when I procrastinate I’m ultimately causing harm to myself. It won’t affect anyone else. It will only affect, me, myself and I. So I’m confessing that I’ve been delaying and that I haven’t used my time wisely. I’ve heard that admitting is accepting and once you accept a fact you can move onto changing it. So, I’m going to change this cycle of laziness and start being productive.

So, if you’re going through a period of pre-exam procrastination, then here are some tips of battling it. I find that they’re working for me.

# 1 – Acknowledgement – Yes, like me, you have to accept that you are being lazy and that you are ultimately harming yourself. Accept it and make the decision to change it. You must stop making excuses for yourself! There are no excuses for harming yourself.

#2 – Identification – You need to identify the reasons behind your procrastination. You also need to identify what distracts you. You need to stay away from social media, entertainment and even family and friends if that is the root of your distraction. You also need to revisit your original reasons for trying to accomplish your goal and what the upcoming deadline really means. Understanding the importance of your deadline for your ultimate goal can help to give you a clear perspective.

#3 – Decision – Make the  decision to stop procrastinating. Set up minor goals that you need to accomplish as soon as possible to reach your approaching deadline. Make an hour-by-hour schedule if you have to and stick to it, because you don’t want anything to hinder your ultimate goal.

#4 – Will-power – You’re going to need to do everything you can to stick to your new schedule no matter what. You will have to ignore the “lazy side” of you who will try to distract you by encouraging you to relax and take it easy, or even by telling you that you have already accomplished so much. If you need to, you can enlist the help of a friend, classmate or family member to remind you of your decisions and to encourage you.

#5 – Positivism – Think positively. When you think positive, you have the energy and the drive to accomplish tasks and reach your goals. When you think negatively, you feel drained and hopeless which then makes you procrastinate more. So, beat the negativity away with a stick and believe in your own abilities. Tell yourself that you can do it, you will do it and nothing will stand in your way!