We all know how stressful school can be whether you are a high school, college, or university student. And because of that stress, we would rather do anything else to make us happy than work on school. Look, even I am writing this blog now as I am avoiding my study book wide open next to me (I have a few exams coming up and I don't even know how I'm not losing my mind yet). Procrastination can drain your productivity and increase anxiety, but I am learning how to manage this better. In this guide, I will share the personal strategies I used to tackle procrastination and lower my stress/anxiety levels in order to enhance my academic performance.
Understanding Procrastination: Identifying Triggers and Patterns
We all know that most of the students get more depressed in the last few months of the year. Especially in November and December with all those crazy deadlines and assignments.
It also gets darker much earlier, which really sets the depressing mood (This mostly counts for the countries in the North).
If you are a skilled procrastinator you would know the signs by now but you are for some reason ignoring them. Sometimes I find myself thinking about all my unfinished tasks and I will be in this panicked state that really sucks. So to get rid of this feeling I look for things that can either distract me or make me happy in a short time. Which means I will end up scrolling through social media or deep-cleaning my room. Instead of facing the tasks, I choose to ignore them completely and let my future self deal with them. And that's the thing about time, eventually, you will have to do it anyway because nothing changes besides how grumpy you will be when the time comes to actually work on it.
That example is only one of multiple reasons that students tend to procrastinate. These are a few reasons why I find myself procrastinating:
There are too many tasks to do and it gets overwhelming.
I don't feel the pressure to work on a task earlier than it needs to.
I make myself believe that the task is hard so out of fear I hide away from it.
According to my brain, I have enough time to sit around and do nothing.
I suddenly find something interesting so I have to do a whole research on it.
I tend to put others above me sometimes so I end up doing other things than my own.
There are probably other reasons I didn't mention that you do experience. No need to worry because they all end up having one thing in common: YOU making the CHOICE to POSTPONE your task and do something else.
Let's be honest here, it's not the lack of action that is the problem. We make ourselves believe that we have just the right amount of energy to do something else but to work on school is just too much. I can't even count on my hands anymore how many times I told myself this in the past.
It's best to realize the moments you are switching from thinking about school and finding something else to keep you busy. I call these my "Hmm" moments. The minute I get even a little stress from my school tasks I think like "Hmm, are there any sales going on?" and then goodbye to school stress for the next few hours. I know this is a very bad habit that turned into a pattern over the years but I can't help it sometimes.
It may be hard at first but try to catch yourself right before postponing a task. Ask yourself what is really going on. Are you tired? Is it difficult? Is it not interesting so it's not worth your time? Feeling like you might fail?
Once you find out what's really going on, you should make the decision to accept this feeling. Sit with it a little and work your way to a better mindset. Try to go somewhere in your mind to accept this task you are trying to put away. This may take a few tries and don't be too hard on yourself. My former teacher used to say that it takes 20 days to make a pattern. So don't expect to break it all in one day.
Methods to Overcome Procrastination Habits
One of the methods that helped me in high school was an app called Forest. I set a study timer for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. By splitting my study sessions into even periods I found it easier to work on my tasks which made sure I didn't burn out faster. Plus once you complete the 25-minute study/work session, the app plants a virtual tree for your accomplishment. It was really nice to see how many trees I planted at the end of the day and that gave me more motivation.
There are multiple productivity apps out there designed to help you with procrastination such as Trello, Todoist, and Notion. All these apps have a free version and some have limited perks so you can always check them out to see if they match with you. Personally, I looked into Notion when it went viral but I found it so chaotic that I decided not to use it. Don't get me wrong the app gives a lot of possibilities like calendar, notes, and AI assistant but I like my apps more simple.
For the last few years, I have been using Microsoft Do To. I find this so simple and easy to use. I make a category for each class and put the tasks in their rightful category. Don't forget to put the deadlines for each task otherwise, it will take a while to get it done (obviously I had stared at these tasks before and sadly they didn't go away). Make sure to set realistic deadlines otherwise, you waste the whole point of effective planning. You don't have to use the same app as me as long as you find a similar To-do list app that works for you.
What also helps reduce my procrastination is setting the events/tasks in my calendar. At first, I didn't believe it would help that much but after visually seeing everything that needed to be done AND on which day, it became more clear to me to not run away from them. I always find myself panicking about the amount of things I had to do and complain I didn't have time. But after being more consistent with this method it helped me a lot. I find it funny how such a small change can have a big effect in the long run.
Incorporating Mindfulness and Self-Care
We shouldn't underestimate spending time in self-care. At first, my procrastination ruined my routine so badly that I didn't make time to take care of myself properly. All I did was think and stress myself out.
By slowly creating a healthy morning routine such as waking up and immediately brushing my teeth and doing my skincare was a huge game changer. Because in a way I showed my brain that if I can be consistent with that routine then I can keep up with everything else.
Without a healthy balance between school and private life, you will focus too much on school and lose important habits such as simply taking care of yourself. Don't treat your body like a useless machine, give it the love and appreciation it needs so you can continue doing the things you want to.
Picture yourself having a nice morning routine and you sit at your desk with fruits and treats ready to start on some schoolwork. Doesn't that sound way better than waking up, and not caring about what you need other than finishing one stupid task??
Remember: No school or career should cost you your mental health!!
Embracing the Journey Towards Success
Procrastination is a pain in the butt that takes time and energy to successfully get rid of it. Time and energy most people don't have the patience for. But through self-reflection, productivity tools, realistic goals, and self-care, I managed to reduce my stress and procrastination.
It's been 2 years since I started working on this challenge and I sure had a lot of ups and really low downs yet I'm still going at it. Yes, it is exhausting and yes sometimes I want to scream in my pillow for how annoying it is but just keep moving forward.
I know it's easy to fall into bad habits but remember the joy of finishing something with little to no difficulty. That moment when your shoulders aren't as tense as before. And your thoughts are more organized than in a couple of weeks ago.
What a relief, right?
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