How to Curb Procrastination

by Karl Dehmelt

Procrastination is a pesky problem. High school students, college students, and adults can all be plagued by procrastination, a habit that often leads to stress and an abundance of wasted time. As a “reformed procrastinator,” I’ve had more than a few late nights, early mornings, and times where I’ve asked myself, “wow, how did I get here – and why do I keep getting here?”

This how-to guide serves to offer advice for curtailing procrastination. I don’t claim to possess the secret formula to re-wiring behavior, only a few strategies that have turned my procrastination into productivity as a college kid in the “distraction age.”

Before work:

Plan. Small, consistent changes are the most effective way to reverse habits. Use a notepad app, a post-it, or a list to plot out what you need to do. Then, like the military says, start simple: breaking the work you have to do into steps, instead of diving into a heap of stress, makes everything more manageable. Also, mute or turn off your phone – Snapchats and Instas are great, but they won’t help you deliver.

Context is key. Find an environment where distractions (chatty friends, fidget spinners, adorable pets) are at a minimum. The less distracting your initial context is, the easier it will be to focus.

Set up a schedule. Don’t force yourself into thinking, “I’m going to need to do my paper, my reflection, my other response, and study all in one five-hour block!” Take one step at a time: decide what’s feasible. If you know a test is coming up in two weeks, block out an hour of studying, per day, instead of 10 hours right before the exam. One hour of time is, typically, easier to schedule than a 10-hour cram.

Prepare all relevant material. The more time you take preparing for your work in advance, the less time you’ll spend navigating clusters of papers, books, and odd links trying to get the info you need.

During work:

Find an audial balance. Do you prefer music? Silence? Ambient noise? Entertaining your ears (and your brain) with your favorite soundtrack locks you in and allows you to focus on completing one task. Personally, I love asoftmurmur.com. The site features ambient sounds such as rainfall, a singing bowl, a coffee shop, and wind, and is a great tool for “washing away distraction.”

Take breaks. Mindfulness is key. Remember those distractions we eliminated prior to starting? Don’t present your brain with a binary, “we are only doing work,” unless that works for you. Instead, do 25 minutes of good work, then take a small break. Another 25 minutes, and then a walk, or a snack, or a text or two. If you can prevent those small pauses from turning into sojourns, you’ll actually allow your brain to focus better.

Remember. Whatever you want to do instead of whatever you’re doing awaits at the end of your work. It’ll be much more enjoyable without the procrastination cloud hanging over your head.

After work:

Update your schedule. See if you accomplished what you wanted. If not, how can you adjust? What do you need to do next?

Get away for a bit. Refresh your brain before your next productive period.

Double-check. Did you do what you needed to do? Did you study the right chapters? Did you find the process successful? Answering these questions pre-emptively will mitigate the risk of surprises down the line when you return to beat procrastination again.

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