Procrastination is a problem for almost every student. Combat procrastination head-on to be more efficient and productive
- Clear your schedule. Don’t overextend yourself. Recognize that your obligations and resulting stress are as important as other people’s needs. Set limits around being interrupted or rescheduling your work time to accommodate others.
- Get motivated. Create a work area that is free from distractions and commit to staying there for at least one to two hours.
- Prioritize. What has to be done first? When is it due? What is worth more in terms of your grade? What is worth more in terms of your personal, educational, or career goals?
- Make sure you understand the task. Ask questions. Get help if you need it – before the project is due.
- Break down the task into “chunks”. Estimate how much time you’ll need to complete the task. Don’t try to do it all at one time. Schedule time to take a project piece by piece – once a week or once a day until it’s done. You’ll avoid getting to the point of overwhelm.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect. Some people are so afraid that if they can’t perform perfectly, they won’t do anything at all. Make sure you understand the expectations of your instructor. Sometimes you will run out of time to do the work you wanted to do on the project. Remember that not everything has to be perfect all the time. A grade of 50% is better than 0%.
- When you really hate it, try to make it as enjoyable as possible. Work on this task first, while you have more energy. Reward yourself when you complete different parts of the project, and work toward that reward.
“Procrastinators unite! Tomorrow.”
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