Stop Procrastinating

By Lev Novak

Procrastination is a common thing for everyone, but in college, it can feel especially prevalent. After all, there’s so much you could be doing instead of doing your homework. You could be partying, or at a club’s meeting, or eating, or with friends, or, of course, napping.

Well, here we’re going to cut out procrastinating. You ready?

1. Get Started

Work is usually better than you think it’s going to be. So, get started the moment you can. Then, you can ignore it for a while.

Why?

Because after you start a project, you’re no longer afraid of it or unsure. You’re less likely to get caught by surprise, and if anything, you might get carried away and actually do more than you thought. So, agree to start your project for twenty minutes the day you get it, and then watch as your procrastination fades away.

Nothing starts you off quite like starting.

2. No Internet

Cut off your internet. Settle by your computer. See what happens.

When you live on a magical fun-box with access to everything in the world (that’s your laptop, by the way) then actual work takes a backseat to all the adventures the internet provides. Facebook! Twitter! Youtube! Memes! Whatever your weakness is, the internet offers it.

So, cut yourself off from the internet. Don’t allow yourself to get sucked into a time-wasting vortex. Get your work done.

3. Set a Meeting

Working with another person can make you more productive, just because you’ll be beholden to somebody else. When you can’t just sleep through your work time- or when you have a designated work-time that another person holds you accountable to- you’re going to work better, simply because there’s no way to make an excuse. You’re going to get it done, simply because you have to.

No matter how lazy you are, you’re going to work better when you owe it to someone else.

4. Work in Public

At the very least, move yourself to the library or the coffee shop if you have to work. When you vaguely know that people can see your laptop, you are far more likely to work on that paper than you are to somehow end up streaming four episodes of Community in a row.

5. One Step At a Time

Segment your work. It can be hard to devote yourself instantly to big, scary projects, so split them up. You might be procrastinating a 20-page paper, but if you just devote yourself to a first step- say, picking your topic and idea- then getting started doesn’t seem so scary.

Add an exit to your plans, and you’ll be less afraid to get started.

6. Do it Now.

No time like the present, right?

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