PUTTING OFF PROCRASTINATION

Motivation in March is more of a problem for many students than it is earlier in the term.  It doesn’t seem logical that procrastination sometimes peaks close to the end of the term when we really don’t have that much time left to deal with whatever it is we put off. But there it is.

How can you deal with lowered motivation and its cousin, procrastination, if that is you? First, endorse yourself for recognizing that yes, you aren’t the enthusiastic student you were a couple of months ago. Maybe this is a result of the pressure of so much to do. Maybe you are discouraged about some of your courses or about other aspects of your life. Accept that lack of motivation as the state of your union right now. Then make a business of what it is you need to get done. 

Taking charge of the work means setting up a way of holding yourself accountable. You’re likely accountable in other areas, such as feeding your pet or providing rides to classmates. This is where you are accountable to yourself. You commit that you are going to come up with the plan and use the tools you have to stay on track—and more importantly, to get back on track when you’ve stepped off. I’m saying don’t be a perfectionist about not procrastinating. 

The obvious tools are chunking the work into doable segments, scheduling, using the pomodoro technique, endorsing for effort, and rewarding for objectives reached. Not-so-obvious tools involve managing your environment. You reduce distractions by having one work area and doing nothing but your work in that area. You know your most tempting distractions—keep the Switch out of sight, out of reach.

Beyond scheduling, there is another aspect of managing your time that reduces the chance that you will put off doing what you will later wish you hadn’t put off: By maintaining a regular schedule, you avoid having to make the decision about when to work. Get up, eat, go to bed at the same times. Know your prime times and down times of the day and do your heavy work and your longer breaks accordingly.

Expect that you are going to run into roadblocks in the work. You will stop and figure out a way to deal with them. Expect that you will self-sabotage and will catch yourself, will endorse for catching yourself, and will pick it up again.

All of that is not very exciting. It just . . . works. No drama here, folks. But avoiding unwanted drama down the road.

Connect with me for sharing and coming up with ways of dealing with procrastination that work for you  [email protected]