secret to avoid procrastination

Hey note takers!

A year from now you may wish you had started today.

Karen Lamb

As a teacher and as a graduate student, I see a lot of procrastination from my friends and my students. Waiting until the last minute to complete something. For me, that just seems to stressful. If you are someone who wants to procrastinate less, I wanted to share a few tips that I do in order to fight it off.

1. list.

I am a list maker. I start off my week by making a long list of things that I need to do on my white board or on a sheet of paper. This way, I know what needs to be accomplished. I think of when things are due and when I have time to do them. For example, I was extremely busy on Tuesdays this past semester, so I knew that I would not be able to do work outside of my planning period. Whenever you complete a task, mark off the thing on the list. You feel more accomplished as you begin to mark things off which makes it more motivating to finish.

Sometimes, I end up finishing my weekly lists early because I want to see how quickly in the week I can finish my weekly tasks. For those of you who are more competitive, you can make a competition out of finishing your weekly tasks with a friend. Or, you can have a reward waiting when you finish your weekly tasks, such as buying yourself your favorite ice cream from the store as soon as you finish all of your weekly tasks. If you are craving the ice cream earlier in the week, you will just have to motivate yourself to finish the tasks so that you can buy it.

The important thing here is to set goals with a time limit. I set daily, weekly, and monthly goals for all sorts of areas of life. I have physical goals each week for working out. I set professional goals which I have to meet week. I have tasks that I set time aside to do daily, such as reading my Bible and cleaning. I have goals that I set for the month which I have to meet. Setting goals with an end date in mind gets you to complete things in an effective manner.

2. prioritize.

Figure out what order you should do things. Some people like the concepts of “Do first what is due first.” Others like to knock the easier assignments out first before moving onto the harder ones. Others like to do the opposite by starting with the harder ones so that it becomes progressively easier to do your task. Find the method that works best for you and your style.

I like to mix it up. Instead of arranging my tasks from easiest to hardest, I place hard tasks in between easy tasks. I can begin feeling productive with an easy task. Afterwards while I am in the zone, the difficult task is more easily done completed. Lastly, I can wind down from the hard task with another easy task that I can do in a short amount of time. This method is just the one that works for me. Sometimes due to my personality, I do tasks that are way far out from needing to be completed before working on more pressing ones, so even when I do not want to do a more imminent task, I am being productive in some way. Be aware of your mood and your needs for rest from doing tasks.

3. find your productive environment.

With this step, you have to figure out what works for you. For example, I used to grade while watching TV. It was more relaxing for me to have the background of something that I enjoy. But, I eventually noticed that I would grade slower because I was distracted. Later on, I learned to set time aside to grade. Then, I would have more time to relax later on instead of taking more time to do the task. I get comfortable on my couch, prop my feet up, and I grade with great rigor.

For some people, it is instrumental music that relaxes them and gets them in the productive mood. Others prefer silence (which honestly is so hard for me sometimes). Some people listen to video game soundtracks as they are meant to get you to do tasks without being distracted. Others find peaceful spots in their home, like a dining room with a good view or a well-lit sun room. There are various things to try in order to get you into that productive mood. Experiment with various places and conditions to see what works best for you.

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Overall, you have to find a system to do work. When you have an opportunity to do work, you should do it. A productive mindset that has helped me is “I will have more free time later if I do work now.” Other helpful thoughts are: “I will be less stressed the earlier I do this” and “I do not want something unexpected to happen right before this is due if I were to procrastinate.” Say things to yourself that will help you to stay on track. Because I do things early, I do not feel the need to always finish everything at once. I will gradually work on things piece by piece to make it more manageable because I start so early. Find the things that work for you to fight off this widespread epidemic of last minute work. You will thank yourself, and your supervisors will definitely take notice.

Following is a link with a lot of really great quotes on procrastination. I really think that you should check them out. (www.keepinspiring.me/procrastination-quotes/)