10 Tips to Stop Procrastinating
Are you suffering from the stress that comes with knowing that you have a 5 page paper due tomorrow that you haven't even started yet? Prevent that stress from happening in the future by following these ten simple tips to overcome the urge to procrastinate.
1. Use a calender! Buy or make a calender that you can use to keep track of your assignments. Hang this calender in a place that will be visible to you everyday. In this way, you will avoid the problem of forgetting when an assignment is due and then remembering the day before after your teacher reminds you.
2. Write it down! As soon as you hear the due date for a project, record the date in your calender. Again, this will help you from forgetting when your project is due.
3. Schedule your time! Your calender will again become helpful in this tip. Figure out how much time you have to complete the project, then break the project down into smaller segments and record in your calender how much time a day you will spend working on your project or what you will accomplish each day for it. Part of the reason you may procrastinate is because you feel overwhelmed by everything you have to do. If you break the project down into segments and do a little everyday, the project ceases to be overwhelming. It'll also give you more time in the long run because you won't have to waste a whole night completing one assingment.
4. Give yourself some leeway! When you're scheduling your time, try to schedule the completion of the project a day or two before the night before the project is due. This way, if you have a lot of homework one night or something else comes up and can't get much of the project done as planned, it won't be a huge deal because you have two extra nights. Just make sure not to use the two extra nights as an excuse to procrastinate and not do the work you scheduled one night! Only use the two extra days for emergency.
5. Plan your ideas! Plan out your project before hand. Not just time wise like above, but also plan how you're going to carry out your project. It can be easy to procrastinate because you don't have any ideas of what to do for project. But If you know what you're doing, you will be less apt to waste time and completly forget about the project until you get ideas. Sit down and write down any ideas you have. You don't need to use all of them, but if you spend a few minutes to stop and think about how you're going to do your project, you won't be as likley to procrastinate because you aren't sure of what to do.
6. Ask for help! If you are confused on the topic of the project or aren't sure of what you should do, don't be afraid to ask your teacher for help. It can also help to ask other people for their ideas because you might find yourself creating other ideas off of those. It is easy to find yourself procrastinating when you don't know what to do, but sometimes the ideas and answers won't come out of thin air. Let other people help rather than just putting the project off because you're confused.
7. Be creative! One of the reasons you might procrastinate is because you aren't excited about the project you are working on! If you can, pick a topic that you are really interested in, or create a cool posterboard or diagram. Think outside of the box and you might find that working on your project isn't so bad after all.
8. Ignore temptations! When you work on your project, don't allow yourself to open a internet browser unless for research relevant to your project. It becomes too easy to get distracted on sites like Youtube instead of actually doing your project. Ignore the temptation to waste valuable time by watching pointless videos or checking Facebook. Also, try to work in a room without a TV.
9. Reward yourself! Whenever you stick to your planned schedule, reward yourself by having your favorite snack or watching a favorite TV show. This can help provide incentive for you to stay on schedule for the next day. When you complete the project ahead of schedule, maybe use the extra time to do something fun like go to the movies or to your favorite resturarunt.
10. Let the A you recieve on your project motivate you! When you don't procrastinate you may find that your grades are better because you weren't waiting until the last minute and trying to get your project done as quick as you could. Instead, you took the time to develope your ideas and polish your work to make sure it was perfect. Let that A motivate you to continue preserving your valuable time.
1. Use a calender! Buy or make a calender that you can use to keep track of your assignments. Hang this calender in a place that will be visible to you everyday. In this way, you will avoid the problem of forgetting when an assignment is due and then remembering the day before after your teacher reminds you.
2. Write it down! As soon as you hear the due date for a project, record the date in your calender. Again, this will help you from forgetting when your project is due.
3. Schedule your time! Your calender will again become helpful in this tip. Figure out how much time you have to complete the project, then break the project down into smaller segments and record in your calender how much time a day you will spend working on your project or what you will accomplish each day for it. Part of the reason you may procrastinate is because you feel overwhelmed by everything you have to do. If you break the project down into segments and do a little everyday, the project ceases to be overwhelming. It'll also give you more time in the long run because you won't have to waste a whole night completing one assingment.
4. Give yourself some leeway! When you're scheduling your time, try to schedule the completion of the project a day or two before the night before the project is due. This way, if you have a lot of homework one night or something else comes up and can't get much of the project done as planned, it won't be a huge deal because you have two extra nights. Just make sure not to use the two extra nights as an excuse to procrastinate and not do the work you scheduled one night! Only use the two extra days for emergency.
5. Plan your ideas! Plan out your project before hand. Not just time wise like above, but also plan how you're going to carry out your project. It can be easy to procrastinate because you don't have any ideas of what to do for project. But If you know what you're doing, you will be less apt to waste time and completly forget about the project until you get ideas. Sit down and write down any ideas you have. You don't need to use all of them, but if you spend a few minutes to stop and think about how you're going to do your project, you won't be as likley to procrastinate because you aren't sure of what to do.
6. Ask for help! If you are confused on the topic of the project or aren't sure of what you should do, don't be afraid to ask your teacher for help. It can also help to ask other people for their ideas because you might find yourself creating other ideas off of those. It is easy to find yourself procrastinating when you don't know what to do, but sometimes the ideas and answers won't come out of thin air. Let other people help rather than just putting the project off because you're confused.
7. Be creative! One of the reasons you might procrastinate is because you aren't excited about the project you are working on! If you can, pick a topic that you are really interested in, or create a cool posterboard or diagram. Think outside of the box and you might find that working on your project isn't so bad after all.
8. Ignore temptations! When you work on your project, don't allow yourself to open a internet browser unless for research relevant to your project. It becomes too easy to get distracted on sites like Youtube instead of actually doing your project. Ignore the temptation to waste valuable time by watching pointless videos or checking Facebook. Also, try to work in a room without a TV.
9. Reward yourself! Whenever you stick to your planned schedule, reward yourself by having your favorite snack or watching a favorite TV show. This can help provide incentive for you to stay on schedule for the next day. When you complete the project ahead of schedule, maybe use the extra time to do something fun like go to the movies or to your favorite resturarunt.
10. Let the A you recieve on your project motivate you! When you don't procrastinate you may find that your grades are better because you weren't waiting until the last minute and trying to get your project done as quick as you could. Instead, you took the time to develope your ideas and polish your work to make sure it was perfect. Let that A motivate you to continue preserving your valuable time.