It's 3 a.m. Your roommate is asleep, and you sit at your desk typing vigorously trying to keep your burning eyes open as they slowly, slowly, begin to shut. With your double espresso coffee and arrangement of notes in front of you, you, my friend, are prepared for an all-nighter.
It's happened to all of us: we get days, weeks, maybe even months to prepare or create the dreaded essay, test, project, or whatever it is our classes have forced upon us. Although, instead of utilizing our precious time, we engage in the painful headache of procrastination.
I, for one, was a very, very talented procrastinator in my high school years, and, occasionally, still am. However, after numerous nights with my eyes glued to my notes, writing note cards, and trying to memorize terms and ideas when my comfy covers won't stop calling me to bed, I've realized that there is another way. There's a whole new life out there that us procrastinators should all discover, and I'm here to tell you why this habit has GOT to go and what you need to do to achieve that.
Imagine this scenario: you're sitting there, debating whether to start studying for your test next week or watch some Netflix. After the "devil on one shoulder angel on the other" debate with yourself, the devil pulls through. You're laying down just trying to enjoy a nice episode of “The Office," but all you can think about is the fact that you should be studying. “I'll start in an hour, two hours, three hours,”… but you never do. Then, that feeling in your stomach, the heart accelerating, antsy feeling we all get creeps up on you. That cringe-worthy feeling is anxiety. Procrastination is the cause of so much unnecessary anxiety and stress, which we all know is no fun. So I am going tell you how I transformed myself from a master procrastinator to someone who actually kind of knows a little about time management.
The first thing I did was make a promise to myself.
It was something along the lines of, "I solemnly swear to never, ever, EVER, become a victim of procrastination again," or maybe something a little less rigid, but you get the point. Also, it did happen again. We’re only human after all, but making this promise to myself was the first real step I took to changing this nasty habit.
Then, I realized that our professors aren't trying to kill us.
The work we have to do is actually somewhat manageable when we utilize time were given. So I decided to break down my assignments into the different components they consisted of. I divided them into small, manageable parts that I could work on a little bit every day.
I cannot stress this enough: calendars are a gift from Heaven.
I always told myself that I would remember certain due dates and tasks and didn't need to write it down, but the majority of the time I ended up forgetting. The truth is, our brains have a million things going on, and although we might think we will be able to remember everything, we most likely won't. So, I decided to write down what I was going to do every day to create a visible road map to my final destination.
The final step was holding myself accountable.
I realized that I will never reach my full potential if I don't stay true to my promises and goals. We are all capable of wonderful things, but the only way we can ever be the best that we can be is by self-discipline and motivation. Setting goals for myself and following through, even if it was just picking up my textbook for 15 minutes, taught me self-discipline and to stay true to myself and my commitments. So I challenge you to motivate yourself to be your very best and get whatever it is done that you promised yourself to do. Your future self will thank you later, trust me.
All of this was much easier said than done, but once I achieved it, a big chunk of anxiety and stress flew out the door and another door opened: a much, much, easier path to success.
So, my challenge to you is to ditch the no good habit of procrastination, and come join the time-management side. And also, don't give up so easily. Breaking a habit you've become so accustomed to is hard. Try, try again, until you succeed. When you are in bed at 10 pm the night before your 26 page essay is due, don't thank procrastination.
