How to Overcome Procrastination as a Student

Have you ever found yourself putting off an assignment until the last minute? Well, you're not alone! It's a common challenge among students to deal with procrastination, be it delaying studying for an exam, finishing an assignment, or simply avoiding vital projects. Multitudinal missed opportunities are only some of the negative consequences procrastination leads to.

Don’t worry, there are numerous ways to battle procrastination! With the right approach and mindset, you will be able to complete tasks in a timely manner and develop proper study skills.

This guide will help you tackle the procrastination problem by breaking it into manageable pieces. Scary concept, isn't it? Obstructed for students, but comprehensible when unmasked, suddenly exposes a simpler existence where assignments are effortlessly manageable.

Understanding Procrastination: Reasons Why Students Put It Off

Defeating procrastination is key to breaking the cycle of inefficiency that escapes so many. That being said there are several obstacles that always sneak their way to motivate students to sit around. Here are some of them: 

✔ Fear of Failure - Some students may put You might postpone getting things done because you’re afraid you won't be able to complete the task perfectly. 

✔ Lack of Motivation - Often, students find some subjects truly distasteful or overwhelming. If such is the case, their coping mechanism instead of studying is ignoring it altogether and just avoiding the subject completely.✔ Last minute panic – tasks that aren’t well prioritized are always left to the last possible moment to be done. 

✔ Social distractions – everything from social media and video games, to television shows can easily distract people from their study time. 

✔ A neverending array of assignments – Advanced courses can easily bog down beginners with unrealistic and unachievable goals/stickmarks that are bound to no encouragement. 

📌 Tip: Identify your personal procrastination causes before taking any action towards the issue.

Ways to Help Reduce the Effects of Procrastination

1. Outline Achievable Goals

Goals too broad can be procrastinated on, while goals too specific can be demotivating. 

✔ Review algebra formulas for 30 minutes.

✔ Solve 10 practice questions

✔ Take a five minute break

📌 Tip: To help organize your goals, try the SMART method as each or your formulated objectives will be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound. 

2. Construct a Studying Calendar

Calendars can be powerful tools to help students figure out their material in a step-by-step manner.

* A deadline is the most important part of the plan so it should be marked in the calendar, planner or a study app.  

* Mark the times you are going to study as well as other assignments you are willing to tackle.

* Stick with the outlined schedules.

📌 Hints: When tackling things you don't want to take care of, be sure to tackle them first. This is when your energy is at its highest.

3. Try Using the Pomodoro Method

This method of study helps in maintaining productivity levels without burning yourself.

* Reduce interruptions and study for a specific topic for 25 minutes.

* After every study session, rest for 5 minutes.

* After completing the 4 working cycles, rest for a longer period of 15-30 minutes.

📌 You can easily use timers or Pomodoro apps like Forest and Focus Booster to assist with the task of keeping you engaged.

4. Clear Everything That Can Distract You

✔ Use social media site blockers (Like Freedom or Cold Turkey) to limit your access to your social media accounts.

✔ Find a quiet place like a library or dedicated workspace where you can study without interruption.

📌 Hints: If you need background noise to help with focus, instrumental music or white noise will do just the trick.

5. Reward Your Achievements and Self-Encourage

Formulate motivation by self-rewarding yourself after reaching particular goals.

✔ Reached a whole chapter? Have a treat.

✅ Complete an assignment sooner than the deadline? Treat yourself to an episode from your favorite series.

✅ Managed to study for two hours? Go to enjoy a walk, or call a friend.

📌 Hint: While rewards can boost your motivation, it is important to remember not to go overboard (e.g, try not to binge an entire season after one study session).

6. Get an Accountability Partner

Studying with friends or people who have similar goals can provide the additional motivation to achieve them.

✅ Share your goals with friends and have check-in sessions so that they can track your progress.

✅ Try to explain your notes to a friend, it allows you to comprehend more effectively.

✅ Make sure you both stay on task because your partner will help you remain responsible.

📌Tip: Consider forming virtual study groups, or make use of StudyStream and Focusmate to enhance efficiency in studying.  

7. Foster Growth Mindset  

One of the reasons students tend to procrastinate is due to the possibility of failing at the said task. A growth mindset is based on learning as opposed to perfection, which rectifies this problem.  

* Instead of: “I am terrible at math.”  
* Try: “I can get better.”  

📌Reminders:  Always strive to shift the perception of mistakes from failures towards learning opportunities.  

👤 8. Begin with Small Actions: The Five Minute Strategy  

Break overwhelming tasks into chunks, and take them step by step. The five minute rule is a fantastic fraud to adopt to trick yourself to get past procrastination easily.  

📌Tip: Use this for processes like reading, note taking, and in fact any kind of assignment.

9. Solve Issues Using The Eisenhower Framework

When trying to complete a list of tasks, the Eisenhower Matrix will aid in categorizing and setting priorities for those tasks. 

Important&Urgent    Important&Not Urgent

Finish a task by the end of the day    Work towards a future goal

Revise for a test the next day    Understand what you are learning by reading more

Urgent & Not Important    Neither Important Nor Urgent

Clearing out the unnecessary emails    Watching YouTube for no reason

Tip: Don't forget to do both urgent and those tasks that are important before anything else. 

10. Mental Health and Physical Health Should Be Addressed

Procrastination is made easier when work overloads the person leading to fatigue from stress. A basic list includes the following: 

✔ Learn to get adequate amounts of sleep (7-9 hours within a night). 

✔ Maintain a healthy diet with foods like nuts, berries and fishes that are good for the brain. 

✔ More frequent exercising will help improve focus as well as reducing stress. 

Tip: To assist with anxiety, deep breathing or meditational exercises, if done properly could help ease the feeling. 

Final Thoughts 

With goal-driven body language, good time management, minimizing attention seekers, and employing tactics like Pomodoro, overcoming procrastination is possible.

To defeat procrastination, all you have to do is take one small step that will help you create healthy habits while studying. 

Now, get to it – move forward, stay motivated, and achieve your goals! 🚀📚