Procrastination is something that has plagued many people. No one really knows how this infamous habit starts, but it is something that a lot of people do not know how to get away from. In this article, I will be talking about procrastination and some ways that may help you break this cycle of waiting till the last minute.
First, we have to look at what procrastination is. Procrastination, simply put, is putting something off until a later time. Many people do this for a multitude of reasons. One reason might be that people procrastinate because they simply do not want to do whatever they are putting off. Another reason might be that they do not understand what they are doing, so instead of trying to figure it out, they just choose to worry about it later. Perhaps the person that is procrastinating is good at doing work fast and they just choose to do their work as late as possible.
I asked a couple of students at SNU if they were one of the many people that procrastinate, and why or why not they do it. Edward Medlin said, “Yes I do, and I normally do this simply because I do not want to do it.” Seth Spruiell said, “I do not. In high school, I was really bad at it and it cost me an A in one class which dropped my GPA below a 4.0. Ever since then, I have tried my best to stay on top of things. It puts less stress on my very busy and very stressful schedule.”
So how do we counteract something that a lot of people do every day? Well, our first solution is to do work as soon as you have the chance. For example, if you have a class that has assigned homework, do it as soon as you are done with classes for that day. One thing that Seth said in his quote is that doing work earlier helps with stress. If you do your work early and do not have to think about it later, you are going to be more relaxed and thankful to yourself.
Another way to fight procrastination is to break your assignment up into smaller sections. For example, let’s say you have a four-page paper to type. You could do one page, take a little break (the break length is up to you, just make sure it is not longer than 30 minutes so you can still focus back on what you are doing), and do another page, and so on. This will help you to not burn out and stay motivated to finish the assignment.
Procrastination is a challenge that many people face. With these little tips and motivations, hopefully, you can start doing your work earlier instead of an hour before the deadline.
Photo by Dez Williams