Avoiding procrastination in 5 simple steps

Tick. Tock. Deadline hangs over you as you find yourself starring into the only connection between you and the university hand-in. As you sway your mind to the right, the stack of assignments piled high-up on your desk cause your stomach to twist in agony. The tips of your fingers begin to tremble, fighting the urge to drizzle down on the nearest source of technology. Before you know it the dreaded deadline hits you smack in the face.

This bad habit forces an unconscious action of delay, postponing work time-and-time again. The drug is like no other and targets anyone and everyone, whether they like it or not. How can we as human beings resist the urge to gaze through the screen of such amazing technology? With an entire spectrum of entertainment and interesting gossip to catch up on, our fingertips just can’t seem to resist. Soon, we end up getting sucked into this portal of various social media sites that can keep us scrambling in a looped cycle for hours- procrastination.

“The problem with a goal we’re avoiding is that we’ve already built into our minds how awful it’s going to be” claimed Dr Pier Steel, world’s leading researcher and spokesman on motivation and procrastination. “One of the easiest things to do is to realize that maybe it’s your distractions, not your goals, which are the problem” said Steel.

Procrastination is essentially a disease eating away at student productivity. The trouble is most of us are so caught up in this endless circle that we have no clue how to free ourselves. With an exam season upon us, we're facing an epidemic. In order help you turn the screen black, glue you down and get things done; here are five easy tips on how to break free from this obsession.

• Study in a group Even though this may cause the temptation to chat amongst friends, choosing the right kind of buddy who is willing to get things done would help motivate you to work too. Chances are, both of you are in the same boat and knowing that you have met up to be productive can aid in getting the work done.

• Work in a controlled environment The moment we place ourselves into an educational environment like the library, the pressure of bumping into friends and connecting to the lightning-speed Wi-Fi connection, will always heighten the temptation. So, remove yourself from busy distractions and try work in areas with minimal background noise and Wi-Fi connections, like your residence room or on a park bench. But sometimes dead silence can be a trigger too. Try listening to calm soothing music to inspire you to work.

• Set a goal Create a timetable with set amounts of hours, or even minutes, allowing you to channel your focus on getting things done. Avoid taking long breaks by giving yourself an award of some kind after each time limit completed. By planning in advance, preparation for exams will be much easier to grasp and if you do the task in small steps, you can summarise important information.

• Do small steps at a time

One of the reasons why we begin to procrastinate is because of the overwhelming amount we are given to do all at once. By doing one question or a paragraph at a time, according to your timetable, it will help you answer questions to the best of your ability. Small steps may seem tedious but by going through your work in small stages you can get a better understanding of what is going on. It is good practise for exam writing and summaries for future preference.

• Turn off all media devices and put them away

This deadly trap is the main reason why students procrastinate in the first place. By getting rid of the temptation, you will be able to sit down in a fairly quiet place and work according to your timetable. Avoid procrastination by preparing with written notes beforehand so that you can limit your time on technology for work.