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Procrastination is ruining my life
4rch3nemy
Registered User
Registered User
I know I procrastinate. I know I do. God. But I can't stop doing it! Urgh.
College student, 22 years old, live w/ parents, have a part-time job, no car. That's my economic/living situation as of now. It's not bad, my parents are helping me out with my school fees, I help out at home, etc.
So the bad part comes in when I have to study.. or do homework.. or run some personal errands.. or.. etc. I just put it off until "later" and "later" is always way too late. I end up cramming for exams, missing school due to lack of sleep, and basically fucking my life around. I don't wanna mess up my great opportunity to learn myself into a nice career, and I definitely don't want to waste my parents' money (it's not like they're wealthy by any means).
So, I've gotta get rid of this awful thing called procrastination. Even now, I should be studying for not one, but two exams tomorrow.. but instead I gave myself excuses to do it later and here I am now: stressed, strung out, and making poast.
Argh. Somebody help me organize my life. Any tips on how to get more done in a day, and how to stick to plans will be life-saving.
(Sorry about the incoherence in my writing. I haven't slept in days.)
College student, 22 years old, live w/ parents, have a part-time job, no car. That's my economic/living situation as of now. It's not bad, my parents are helping me out with my school fees, I help out at home, etc.
So the bad part comes in when I have to study.. or do homework.. or run some personal errands.. or.. etc. I just put it off until "later" and "later" is always way too late. I end up cramming for exams, missing school due to lack of sleep, and basically fucking my life around. I don't wanna mess up my great opportunity to learn myself into a nice career, and I definitely don't want to waste my parents' money (it's not like they're wealthy by any means).
So, I've gotta get rid of this awful thing called procrastination. Even now, I should be studying for not one, but two exams tomorrow.. but instead I gave myself excuses to do it later and here I am now: stressed, strung out, and making poast.
Argh. Somebody help me organize my life. Any tips on how to get more done in a day, and how to stick to plans will be life-saving.
(Sorry about the incoherence in my writing. I haven't slept in days.)
4rch3nemy on
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But you need to start keeping a list of things you have to get done, and when they need to be done by. Include less concrete things like "1 hr studying for exam in *class*." After that, at some point you'll need the willpower to look at these lists, and start working on crossing shit off of them instead of doing whatever it is you do instead.
Also, a tip from a fellow procrastinator. Almost no block of time is too short to get something done. I know I've said to myself many a time "I've got to leave for work in 30 or 45 minutes, and I can't possibly get any real schoolwork done in that short a time." Bullshit. Sit down and knock out, for example, a math problem or two. Half a chapter of reading. Something. Start putting small blocks of time that you might otherwise completely waste to good use. You'll find yourself crossing more things off your list, and getting more sleep. You might even find you have more time to do the shit you'd rather be doing, as crazy as that may sound.
Really, it's on you though. I/we can give you tips like the ones above. A few might even help...for a while. But seriously, nobody can get your shit done, and keep getting your shit done, but you.
I have the exact same problem, but only when I'm home. If I hang around school, I can EASILY get everything I need done and studied; however, whenever I'm home I never get anything done. It is seriously worth the 15-25 minute drive to school just to sit in the library to get things done.
It's really all about the atmosphere I suppose, but if you're having problems procasting on homework/studying, try just spending another 3-5 hours at the library or whatever everyday. Of course once you're home, I'm too lazy to go back to school and procrastinate even further so I end up just staying there until I get everything done.
You could also try getting a PDA or something, but it sounds like you just have too much distractions and not a problem with organization dates/etc.
Give hanging around at school in a library or something a shot, you'd be surprised with what you accomplish
Procrastination isn't born through partial commitment, it's born through complete avoidance...If you do something small, it's easier to keep up with it, so whatever it takes to reach that point is a good thing. Just do something. Because odds are once you do even a small amount, you'll see something that you could be of value to you and you'll have an easier time continuing whatever needs to be done.
In fact, maybe I need to start doing this again. I've been having some problems in this area again lately, and I just realized I haven't been to the library in months. Coincidence? I think not!
Also, PDAs are great. You put things into them as they're assigned, and you have a nice organized list of shit you need to do. It stares you in the face with its long listiness. Personally I use a piece of software called 4.0 Student from Handmark software that I bought forever ago. It's fantastic for keeping schoolwork organized and tracking grades. I could go into all its features, but it's not like a single piece of software/hardware is going to fix all your problems anyway.
So yeah. Library. Maybe a PDA. And good old fashioned motivation.
Excuses don't get shit done. Everytime you spot yourself making an excuse, go no, fuck it. That's an excuse I'm going to do this shit.
Satans..... hints..... I'm a mo bro!
Something that helps me:
Organize spaces according to the one or two activities you should do with them. For example, only use your bed for sleeping - don't read in it, certainly don't watch TV or play video games in it. Use one chair for video TV/video games. Set aside one chair as your reading chair. Set aside one table as your eating table, and set aside another table as your work space (don't eat at your desk).
Humans are habitual creatures, so doing stuff like this can help you concentrate and get things done. A lot of people have trouble with insomnia, for example, because they read and watch TV in bed, in addition to sleeping there. If they use the bed ONLY for sleeping, though, they clock out as soon as they hit the pillow. Same deal with work. If you play video games in the same chair that you read in, odds are that whenever you sit down to read, you'll want to procrastinate and play video games. If you use a chair ONLY as a reading chair, the urge won't be as strong.
I can definitely second the library. The library carries this cultural expectation of being a silent workplace, so you'll almost certainly find that it's easy to knuckle down and get to work there (unless some jackass is whispering to his girlfriend about the craaaaazy party that happened weekend, which seems to happen EVERY TIME I GO).
Quoted for truth.
This is pretty much the best advice I could have given myself. I've found that just *starting* things, without allowing yourself time to think up excuses (start the second it even comes into your head) is the best answer. Simple things like writing an essay, or cleaning my room...really becomes a lot less of a pain once I've begun. I also tend to find that once I start a project I get "in the zone" and it makes it a hell of a lot easier to complete the task, because I'm just working on getting everything finished.
I can't do school work unless I'm at home on my computer listening to music and talking to people on AIM. I am a gigantic procrastinator and I do almost everything last-minute. However, I have found that doing things I want to do while doing something I don't really want to do helps soften the blow, and somehow or another I end up with an A+ on all my term papers.
It's not so much forcing yourself into doing it as it is finding a condition and environment in which you're comfortable, and knowing your limits.
You know what you have to do, whether it's study, do homework, go to class, etc. You understand the benefit that these things will eventually provide for you (career, money, satisfaction, etc.) So what you need to do is start seeing actions that prevent you from being successful at school as being harmful to your future life. Don't think of procrastinating as something you're doing instead of studying; think of it as something that's hurting you personally. When I started to associate that feeling directly with whatever I was doing instead of schoolwork, it made it a lot easier to stop doing that thing and do the schoolwork.
As far as mechanical things, make lists. Keep a pen and paper by your bed, and before you go to sleep every night, write down all the stuff you want to do the next day. Then when you wake up, look at it, and revise and prioritize as necessary. It's a lot easier to get things done when you have a defined order in which to do them ("I'll finish X, then I'll move on to Y, etc.")
Since you still live with your folks, you could enlist them in helping you. I know that my roommates and I used to keep each other on task by studying together; your parents probably don't need to study, but maybe if you committed to studying with them while they work/read/pay bills/etc., that'd help keep you doing it. And they'd probably enjoy your company.
Form habits. When you find something that works, keep doing it until it becomes habitual.
my unofficial autobio will be accompanied with tips on how to smile
cause I've found that when they don't see you frown, they never know that you're a threat
and they don't sweat you when you came around
I also had a panic attack last fall and that's why I try to keep the stress out of my life as much as possible.
So yeah, get older or have a panic attack. Once you're able to equate that the reward of doing something prompt (eg: taxes and your monies coming in early, registering and inspecting your car) is better than the reward of putting someting off till much later so you can watch tv, play WoW, or rub one out you'll always be a procrastinator.
Some of the major causes of these problems are things like:
-Reading these forums! (I should be working now even!)
-YouTube
-INSTANT MESSENGER OH MY FUCKING GOD, really, you think you can work with it on, and I do, but I know that when I kill it and actually resist the temptation to open it, I can actually get my work done
Really, it's a good idea to go to the library, but maybe not all alone... what I do is go with a bunch of my friends when we really need to work, to one of those group study rooms, and we just try and work as much as we can before we go do fun things. It's a good mix of complete silence and death with people and not silence and death. Leads to productivity for me. Try that out.
EDIT: Also, holy crap, here's some good advice... don't think about your procrastination. For example, on Friday afternoon I was in the library and wasted it, okay, right, well and good... but then Saturday I kept thinking about how much work I needed to do and how much time I wasted.. and then similar things on Sunday, until I hadn't really started my paper till 1AM Monday morning.
This is why you don't dwell on time you wasted. You just do the shit, and YOU JUST DO IT. NO THINKING.
These things are all things I'm trying to tell you as well as myself.
Like, I've done some stupid things and somehow miraculously come out just fine. That kind of gives you the idea that whatever your doing somehow works and life is never really gonna get bad.
The point is, it might take something really bad happening to you (getting kicked out of the house, flunking all your classes, etc) before you find some sort of motivation to actually try. Even then it might be difficult, though.
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If you allow yourself to punctuate what you need to do with what you want to do, it seems that, logically, you'd be less likely to completely sacrifice the need for the want.
I mean, it takes a bit of self control, but so does everything suggested in this thread.
The library is a great suggestion and it's hardly total silence in a University Library. It's not loud but study groups chat, people are using computers, there's plenty of movement. It's actually a great environment because it has just enough commotion to put you at ease, as opposed to dead silence where you can hear a pin drop.
For me, I just needed to start the task. If I immediately started, say a paper, i'd be half way before I knew it. For studying, I found groups to be the best motivation.
I don't know about you but I find it easier to work when I'm not hating what I'm doing and thinking more about what I could be doing rather than what I am doing.
In short try to put yourself in positions where you won't be tempted to slack.
I had a problem with procrastination and heres what I did to fix it: I wrote a list every morning, the list had everything i felt i needed to do for that day on it, in the order i wanted it done. For example:
- Revise yesterdays lecture notes
- Finish lecture exercises
- Pre-read tomorrows lecture notes
- Stretch
- Work out
- Work on assignment X for Y hours
- Work on assignment X for Y hours
Written in a notebook on my bedside table. I'd go have a shower and then add anything I'd forgotten to the end. After breakfast I'd get started on working my way through the list. Once I hit the end it was WoW time.
I hope that helps you out a bit.
I don't know how I can be talking about this so easily, as I'm literally in mental agony right now. I know that seems pretty weak to you guys, as I've read some stories of people who have screwed up a lot more than I have, but my parents are expecting me to get scholarships, and the stress on me is immense.
Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.
The advice in this thread seems good, but the hard part will just be doing it. I think procrastinators have a problem with grossly overestimating the amount of work they think they can get done in a certain period of time. I always plan on getting things done, but I can't.
I really need to get working on that paper. I shouldn't waste any more time here, as hard as it will be.
Edit: also, loads of people have the problem with not moving out for a long while. My brother didn't move out till he was 23 and he's travelling the world now. (lazy fucker (I'm just jealous)). I think it's just the comfort and amenities home brings. Actively seeking a job is helpful in getting you driven to move out though.
-Library
-Outline papers before you write them
-Get up early instead of staying up late to get things done
-Write stuff down
You can do that later, and you'll feel better for not having things you're supposed to be doing.
Absolutely. It's actually for this exact reason that I refuse to install any "really good" game onto my computer during the school year. Sure, it would be great fun on the weekends or a day that I don't have much work to complete, but it could also easily be trouble for me on the days where I'm procrastinating.
Just realized I'm procrastinating now, off to do Trig homework.
So maybe you're just telling yourself you'd like to do something else.
The only thing I find that doesn't work about this is that it's very to still procrastinate and just say "Well, I'll start it later, and then once I'm in the groove it won't take any time at all". From my experiences, even when you're in the groove it always takes longer than expected to get things done (either rewriting parts, or you need a bit more research than you thought, whatever) so it's good to get down to work as early as possible. When you start to think "I'll do it later" you just have to have the self control and willpower to say "No, not later. I'll do it now".
It really becomes a lot easier once you've started.