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10 Powerful Hacks on How to Overcome Procrastination for Students

Tuesday December 20, 2016,

6 min Read

You can always hear the phrase “I will do it later” from chronic procrastinators. Students are so prone to this because of too many distractions around them like checking their social media accounts, chatting with friends, and etc.

Procrastinating kills productivity. It is actively putting off tasks that you have to do to do other activities that are more enjoyable and more comfortable doing. When you let yourself be eaten away by procrastination, there will be negative consequences.

Students tend to put off task over and over that it has become a destructive habit. If you are one of them, use these powerful hacks to help you overcome procrastination.

1. Adjust your to-do list.

The technique to being able to cross out every task off your to-do list is to not fill it with too many tasks. Limit the items so it won’t overwhelm you and tempt you to procrastinate.

2. Identify the root cause of your procrastination.

It is important to recognize that you are procrastinating and even more significant to find the root cause of why you are procrastinating to properly address the problem.

• Unpleasant task -One reason why you may be procrastinating is because the task at hand is simply unpleasant that you try to avoid doing it. It can be that it is too boring that you’d rather do other more enjoyable things. The best way to deal with this is to just think that the faster you accomplish the task, the faster you can do other more enjoyable things.

• The task is overwhelming – people procrastinate when the task gets too overwhelming. Even if you are organized and your to-do list is adjusted, you can still feel overwhelmed with tasks that you have to accomplish especially when it comes to big tasks. Also, you may feel fear for both success and failure.

You may fear success for it can cause you more work or doubled workload in the future that you don’t think you can handle but can’t say no to. You may fear failure for not being able to meet all your requirements on time that you lose credibility and trusts of people around you.

• Everything is disorganized – Organized people can do work seamlessly without distractions. This is what-to-do lists are for. List down all your projects, papers, and exams by date and priority.

• You are a perfectionist – It may not seem like it but perfectionists are often chronic procrastinators. They think of different methods of doing the tasks and take their time deciding which one will be the best approach. Sometimes, they end up not doing the task because they think they do not have the necessary skills to do it.

• You have poor decision-making skills– If you cannot decide what to do first or what to do next or simply cannot decide whether you are doing anything at all for the day, you are likely to put off tasks for later. Practice your decision-making skills and you can beat procrastination.

3. Use productivity tools when working.

Technology is both helpful and distracting when you have too much to do. One thing that we can make use of brought by technology is the different productivity tools we can carry everywhere.

Download timers, productivity apps, notes and reminders to help you overcome procrastination. Also, consider being wise about your time and not try to cram with your papers when you have to study for your exams the next day. There are paper writing services online available like trust my paper if you need help with your academic papers.

4. Break down tasks into chunks and do the hard ones first.

When you break down your tasks into smaller chunks, it will be easier to accomplish them. Start with the big ones as they take much of the time and energy doing. Do the small things next. You can even do small tasks during your break. For instance, if you have to reply to emails, you can do so while you are on break from studying for your exams.

5. Take tiny breaks and long breaks.

Tiny breaks are those 15-minute breaks in-between tasks to de-stress or simply breathe. Long breaks are those breaks that you have to take to reenergize your mind and body. Both of these breaks are essential to productivity and help in defeating procrastination.

6. Treat yourself well and do not neglect your health.

Sometimes there is a deep-seated underlying problem why people procrastinate. For instance, if you do so many curricular activities apart from academics, you may not notice that you are neglecting your health. It could be that you are sleep-deprived that is why you are procrastinating. It could also be that you are poorly nourished that you feel sluggish all the time.

Vitamin deficiencies can also be a culprit. Make sure you take care of your health by eating a well-balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and sufficient exercise.

7. Reward yourself.

Aside from the feeling of victory when you finally crossed out that one unpleasant task off your to-do list because you already accomplished it, it will also be great to reward yourself from time to time.

It doesn’t necessarily mean buying yourself a gift every time you accomplish a task, although that sounds great, rewards may be in form of giving yourself some alone time to do things that you love. Maybe you want to catch up on our favorite TV show or get yourself some nice massage.

This will make you look forward to accomplishing more tasks. This can beat procrastination.

8. Maximize your breaks by doing other tasks.

If for example, you are watching your favorite TV show; you can use the commercial breaks to do your laundry. List down tasks that you can do during your breaks. Those tasks that do not need your undivided attention like washing clothes, cleaning, and taking out the trash.

9. Go offline.

As mentioned, your mobile phone, your laptop, and other electronic gadgets are major sources of your procrastination. To overcome this, consider going off the grid for even half of the day. You’ll be surprised by how much tasks you got done at the end of the day just by going offline.

10. Adopt other strategies that combat procrastination.

Some of these tips will work better for some people while some need a different approach. Try to come up with other strategies like getting a friend to check up on you and your work progress.

Procrastinating is a bad habit that students need to break. It limits productivity and wastes time. The next time you feel the urge to delay an important task, go back to these tips and techniques to help you stop it. Soon you won’t stop until you get all tasks done, and that’s when you know you have truly overcome your procrastination habit.