As someone who has been in education for over 75% of my life, I am no stranger to wanting to put things off to the last minute. There’s a guilty pleasure in watching that clock go down and justifying, “oh, if I do it at such and such a time, then I’ll have plenty of time to do it later.” I’ve done it, you’ve done it, and now the million-dollar question, “how do you combat it?”
This isn’t necessarily a fix-it for everyone. You may even be procrastinating on working on your own projects/work/assignments by thinking you’re researching how not to. But if you can take away something from things I’ve learned over the years, maybe you can edge your way one step closer into combating it.
1 – Friendly Judgement.
Tell someone you have a deadline. To me, nothing works more from getting a project done than someone I trust checking in on me, going “oh, how are you doing?” The shame creeps up on you if you lie to them. Their encouragement emboldens you if you tell them the truth.
2 – Get outside of your normal space.
There’s a reason so many of us find they can’t work in our bedrooms, or even our houses – it’s so easy to feel relaxed and safe there. And whilst the pressure of the final hours of a deadline can make it so we bypass the usual tranquility of swathing ourselves in blankets and watching Netflix whilst ignoring copious amounts of work, removing yourself from that environment and working in a public place really can help to put your mind in focus. The library, for example, is free! Use it!
3 – Treat Yourself!
Who says working hard has to be “all work, no play?” Most of us do these projects because they’re attached to something we’re pursuing – education, careers, or even a side-project we independently began. Sure, it may be tedious, but even rewarding yourself with something small can brighten up any day of work, and you don’t need to suffer during these days.
“If I write 900 words, I will reward myself with a take-out.” Worked a treat on assignment deadline day for me.
4 – Space your work out!
Now, I know the temptations of leaving it all to the last minute. Sometimes it’s just easier to get on with daily life and then grind through deadlines in the last hours of a Sunday morning, finally feeling like the walking dead at 4 in the morning. And whilst that is feasibly possible, space out your work. Doing even a small amount every other day helps tremendously if you do find yourself in that last-minute grind.
If you’re like me and love cute stationary, buy a planner and organise your time. You’ll be amazed at how a little effort each day shaves off the big looming look of that deadline.
5 – Finally… find a playlist and listen to it on repeat.
Some may argue that music actually helps distract you from doing work – and to a degree, I can understand that. But with the rising popularity of “lo-fi 24 hour” streams on YouTube dedicating to helping people study, as well as my own personal experience of finding my concentration improving if I listen to nature sounds such as the rain, there’s a certain adrenaline that really helps you speed through those deadlines!
Overcoming procrastination is different for everyone, but hopefully these tips of mine provided at least a little nugget of wisdom. 🙂
