I remember the first time I heard the word procrastination. I was about 9 and my older brother told me he was a procrastinator. I’m not kidding or exaggerating, I really thought h
I remember the first time I heard the word procrastination. I was about 9 and my older brother told me he was a procrastinator. I’m not kidding or exaggerating, I really thought he was talking about something dirty. Come on, it’s a big word! Turns out, procrastination isn’t a dirty word, but it is a word that fills students with a particular dread.
Procrastination is something that the majority of students deal with. However motivated someone is, there are times when doing work seems like the worst thing in the world and we begin to question why we prolonged education after 16. Countless tweets and Facebook statuses have informed me that my student friends suffer from procrastination as much as anyone else. Whether it is watching pointless videos on You Tube, clicking through countless memes, going for a long walk or stalking people on Facebook who don’t understand the term ‘privacy settings’; procrastination is avoidance and it can be perilous to our work.
A phrase I’ve heard is, “If I do this work now then future me can relax and enjoy Iplayer/Sport/Music”. The problem is we tend to care a lot more about ‘present me’ than ‘future me’, especially when there is a dissertation or 50% assignment due. There are a few theories for why we procrastinate. It’s a coping strategy for anxiety, it’s about impulsiveness, or delaying negative emotions. Procrastination can be a serious issue for people who require help to deal with chronic procrastination that detrimentally affects their work and life.
As summer draws to a close and essay deadlines loom, how can we deal with procrastination? Well, things like effective time management, to-do lists and rewards are useful ways to target procrastination. Teaming up with someone else to keep accountable to them about your work could be another way to beat procrastination. Make a pact with your friend that you will both work for an hour and then go for a coffee. Then you can feel good about yourself and not feel guilty about taking a break.
If you feel like procrastination is a bigger problem for you which is detrimentally affecting your degree, go to someone at your University in student support, or a lecturer. Universities are equipped to deal with these issues and they will have a framework in place to help you out.
We all work hard, so rest and doing things we enjoy is necessary; but procrastination isn’t necessary. Over the coming year, which is my final year, I am going to be trying my hardest to dodge procrastination.
Do you have any tried and tested methods to beat procrastination?
