6 Tips to Help you Stop Procrastinating
Listen… These 6 tips to help you stop procrastinating will take time. Any new habit (or breaking a habit) takes a lot of time, dedication, and effort. Some studies say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. But let’s be completely honest… Spending a lifetime of procrastinating can’t be fixed overnight and it very well may take you more than 21 days.
But you can’t succeed without starting somewhere. Reading articles such as this one means you are ready to change. Implementing these tips and strategies and doing them daily means you are on your way to success!
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This post is all about ways to stop procrastinating.
1. Make a dream board/vision board
This may seem odd considering you are wanting ways to get more work done. But, visualizing what you want in life gives you your “why?”. Why are you studying? What is the bigger goal here? You have to want something. Is it an “A” in the class? A dream job? A car? To make a comfortable living? To support your parents? All are great reasons why you need to be reminded daily as to what you will accomplish in the future.
A dream board does just that. Creating a visual representation of what you will have in the future is a great way to keep you on track and motivated to work harder every day. Looking at my goals every morning puts me in a better mood because I know I have so much to look forward to. And doing my work is one thing that will help me get there. I made a wallpaper on my phone using Canva so that I look at it every time I go on my phone as a reminder of what I am working for. You can create a physical board (like this one below) or wallpaper for your computer!
2. Make to-do lists
To-do lists allow you to stay more organized and make everything seem much more manageable. Sometimes just figuring out what we need to be focused on can be difficult. Jot down some things that are important at the moment that you need to get done. This clear outline has all the things you want to accomplish and will help you stay focused. I put my to-do lists in my planner and Notion (a completely free productivity platform). Isn’t it satisfying to cross things off?! It’s proof of how much you’ve gotten done today!
Therefore, every Sunday, I make a to-do list for big goals that I will accomplish that week. And every night before bed, I have 2-3 important things I need to get done the next day. These to-dos may include a small piece of an assignment or project I plan on finishing that day so I can finish it by the deadline. This is beneficial the night before so you don’t have to waste time stressing and remembering what you need to get done!
3. Start following a schedule (using Excel/Planner/Google Calendar)
This is the key to consistency for me! Planning what you are doing throughout the day assigns a task for every hour. Doing this means you have an allotted time for each task. You can even fit in time to watch a couple of episodes of a show you love per week! This will take some time to adjust to. But as you get better at sticking to a schedule like this, you will get so much more work done!
I see this fitting into two scenarios:
1. For a student: Making a schedule from the morning until you are going to be studying which could be around 6 or 7. Then using the rest of the evening for yourself to unwind and do something fun.
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2. For anyone: Making a schedule that entails everything you will do for the day. Scheduling in breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. Planning when your classes are, when you are studying, when you are hanging out with your friends and when you plan on going to sleep! It seems like a lot, but when you stick to your plan you will be surprised at how much you can get done in a day.
Here is an example of what my summer schedule looked like on Google Sheets:
(I made this using Google Sheets which is free for anyone to use.)
4. Spend time with friends and family
All work and no play is not fulfilling and quite honestly, it’s not healthy either.
While you are working hard and keeping good grades, it’s important to plan times you can meet with friends and family. This helps you stay in high spirits and gives you much-needed time to de-stress from everything else going on.
While you are changing your habits and working harder you can’t forget about those you love to spend time with.
If you don’t want to spend time with friends or family you can also take time to yourself. Watch a good movie, read a book, relax, or even just take a nap!
5. Stay disciplined
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. Work ethic is one of the main differences between successful people and people who stay stagnant. There are so many successful people who started where you are and you can be successful too. You just have to stay focused.
I have spent so much time trying to change my bad habits into good ones. I watched so many YouTube videos on the art of studying. I read up on tips to stop procrastinating. I had a planner and I had the cute notebooks ready to be used. But nothing changed until I realized that I was missing in the equation.
All of these great tools didn’t work until I turned off my phone and got to planning.
It’s a long and hard journey for those of us who didn’t grow up being the most diligent students. Coming into college with just “ok” study habits made it hard to shift into new habits that can increase your GPA significantly. Everyone has the capability to be great, it just takes time and you putting in some work.
6. If you Mess Up, Try Again
There are always going to be times where you get distracted or your mind wanders off. But, you have the power to redirect those thoughts and get back to work.
Don’t let little slip-ups create doubt in yourself because it’s all a mental game.
Make a pact with yourself that even if you get off track, you won’t beat yourself up. You will just get right back on track and exit out of whatever distracted you. Whatever you were watching or whatever feed you were scrolling through will be there later. I promise. Make good use of the time you have.
Something I continue to remember when I get frustrated with how I spent my day is that we all have 24 hours in the day. Understanding that it is how you use your time makes all the difference. Plan, plan, plan, and don’t forget to execute.
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In conclusion, your dreams don’t work unless you do. So let’s get to work! Let me know in 21 days if you have kept up with these new habits! 😉
For more productivity tips click here!
For incredibly helpful studying techniques click here!
For more college-related blog posts, click here!
