What is procrastination? Psychologists have been trying to understand what lies behind this state of mind for over a hundred years. They’ve come to the conclusion that it is like eternal hanging on the uncompleted task. Does it sound familiar to you? Many students face procrastination in college: 75% are avid procrastinators, while half do it regularly, especially when something boring comes up. 

Some of the most common ways to procrastinate are to watch TV, play a game, or get stuck in social networks thoughtlessly, going from profile to profile. In this guide, we will discuss the reasons and offer seven ways to get rid of procrastinatio. 

7 ways to stop procrastinating in college 

How often have you found yourself staring at one point and trying to concentrate on the task you have to do? This is especially true for the situations when you have to deal with something unpleasant: for example, writing an essay on some complicated topic while your head is empty. Even though you can always order cheap essay writing and go enjoy your free time, you will not get rid of procrastination habit this way. 

Procrastination is often associated with low self-esteem, being afraid to fail, and some irrational beliefs that negatively impact your overall state. It is also connected with being not confident in your academic abilities, for example, constantly asking, “Can you do my math homework for me?” Thus, those students who like procrastinating are often more stressed than others and are likely to miss deadlines and receive low scores. 

Before we start discussing how you can get rid of this habit, let’s understand two main reasons that make us procrastinate. First, the task is unpleasant and is going to be a headache, so we put it off. Secondly, you are not sure you can do it perfectly. Once you accept it and stop being afraid to fail, you can follow these steps:

1.Do the hardest and most unpleasant tasks first

Even if you hate this task and you think, “I need help with my math homework, I’m desperate,” you need to concentrate and overcome your urge to put it off. From the point of view of Biology, for hard tasks, we require more energy, so completing the first, we can still handle other duties. Besides, once you get rid of this, you will be more eager to complete other, less unpleasant activities.

2. Work on self-regulation

To stop procrastinating, choose one of the different time-management strategies, create to-do lists, make plans, and try to follow them. You may not tick off all the tasks, but the more you practice, the better you will do with time.

3. Reward yourself

To be more eager to complete a task, promise yourself a little reward to have motivation. For example: if I finish this essay within one hour, I can go to the party/go out with friends/watch a movie/eat something tasty.

4. Watch your environment

If you have to work, then create a working environment. The same is with studies: create a workplace, remove all unnecessary stuff that can distract you, switch off your smartphone, or set one of those useful apps that block your access for a definite interval. It will allow you to concentrate on your task as you will have no other way but do it;

5. Set a deadline

When you know that you are running out of time, there is no way but start doing the task, no matter how unpleasant it might be. According to psychologists, the further the deadline is, the less productive we become, that is why a short deadline matters;

6. Create digestible pieces

If the task is big, divide it into smaller parts. Completing it part by the part you will do it faster than if you started without it.

7. Set reminders

When we avoid doing the task, we are very likely to forget about it at all. Create a few reminders ringing within definite intervals to make yourself start working. 

•July 18, 2020