By: Ruben Chernenko (Residence Advisor-Shuswap House)
Dammit, I am going to be late! I knew I should have updated my alarm clock ages ago!!! You run over to your pile of laundry that you have neglected to do for the last two weeks and struggle to put on a pair of mismatched red and blue socks. Next, you run into the washroom and pull and twist the toothpaste in every direction because you have yet to buy a new tube. Finally, you make it out of your house and grab your mail right before you get into your car. Thinking to yourself, “Wow, I made it, I am not going to be late.” Much to your despair, you look down at your mail and realize that you did not pay for your car insurance that month – you will not even be able to drive!
Sounds like a rough morning, but it is one I am sure we have all experienced in one way or another. Procrastination is a virus that plagues thousands of students from all around the world. Now, there are many misconceptions about procrastination. For example, individuals think it started with the creation of the Internet, Facebook, or my personal kryptonite, YouTube. However, in reality, procrastination has been around for ages.
Back in 800 BC, a Greek poet by the name of Cicero cautioned people “not to put off work until tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow […].” The Romans even viewed procrastination as “evil” and “hateful” when trying to conduct business.
So, what is procrastination? Experts define it as a “complicated failure of self-regulation. It is a voluntary delay of some important task that we intend to do, despite knowing that we’ll suffer as a result of putting it off.” But this does not answer the question as to “why do we procrastinate?”
Some of the main cognitive reasons we procrastinate is because:
i) We have a fear of failure
ii) We overestimate how much time we have left to perform tasks and underestimate how long certain activities will actually take to complete.
iii) We mistakenly assume that we need to be in the right frame of mind to work on a project/assignment. We put off doing work and fill that time with some other enjoyable activity thinking the once you make yourself feel good you will be ready to work.
So, in doing some research, I have compiled a simple list of my “Top 7 Improvements on Getting over Procrastination”
1) Create a to-do list, add everything big or smal
2) Finish the hard stuff first
3) Give yourself a break to let your brain process on your learning
4) Remove your distractions like cell phone and TV
5) Motivate yourself through enjoyable breaks
6) Get an accomplice to hold you accountable
7) Focus on the end goal
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