It’s that time of year again when students cram for exams and stress over final papers. Ideally, the goal is for everyone to be able to sit down and do their work consistently, but reality quickly sets in and we remember that that’s not going to happen. So, instead of snapping endless selfies, here is a list of productive-ish things you can do instead of studying.
Make a to-do list
I love to-do lists. I live on to-do lists. I have lists for my lists. The first thing I do when procrastinating is make a list of the things I should be doing and then color code each item by necessity.
Recommended for you
Laundry
Unless you have just caught up on your laundry, you likely have some to do. No one really wants to do laundry unless it allows them to put something else off like studying!
Cleaning
This is along the same lines as laundry; disinfecting every visible surface in your room never seemed so fun until now. This also applies to your phone and computer: delete pictures you don’t want and files you don’t need anymore.
Knitting
Not as productive as laundry, but you get a nifty hat or scarf out of it at least. The repetitive motion is also calming, so this works well for relieving stress.
Organize your notes
This, in a way, falls under the category of studying but more so study preparation so it is productive nonetheless. Are your notes color-coded? No? Well they are now. This has the added bonus that even though you’re not actively studying, you’re still looking at the information you need to know.
Answer emails, texts, and fill out paperwork.
Have you resubmitted your FAFSA forms? Have an email you should have responded to but isn’t totally necessary? It doesn't matter how time sensitive it is. This is the perfect time to do it.
Take a shower
Hey, you’ve got to do it eventually, so it might as well be while you don’t feel like studying for your exam. I like to save this for late at night because it also works well if you need to wake yourself up.
Bonus tip: drink a cup of coffee or tea right before you get in so that the caffeine hits you as you’re getting out.
There are also two things you should stay away from when procrastinating studying: Netflix and sleeping.
Netflix
I know, you only have two more episodes of "Orange is the New Black" left and you just want to finish the season then you’ll get back to work. That’s a lie. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, even Youtube are all deep dark holes of procrastination. You finish the season and then you see that Netflix thinks you’ll like "Black Mirror" and you’ve been meaning to see it so why not now? Because you will never get your work done. That’s why. Anything that doesn’t have a set end goal is generally a bad move.
Sleep
Sometimes it is absolutely necessary when it’s four in the morning and you’ve only slept three hours in the past 24 hours. You can afford a 20 minute nap then, but, more often than not, going to sleep means that you’re not going to get back up. Also, if you do happen to wake back up, you probably won’t be as alert as you were before.
Good luck on your finals and don’t procrastinate too much!
