Are you plagued by a constant battle between study goals and urges to procrastinate? If you are, then you may well join this club.
Almost all of us have been through the phase when we are just too uninspired to hit the books, even when the deadline is lurking around the corner. Well, no more. Because in this article, I am going to share some tried-and-tested ways in which you steer clear of the big rock in your way that’s called procrastination.
Baby steps.
Have you ever wondered why it’s next to impossible to study for a prolonged period of time without any real breaks? I know I have. A few months ago, I found out that this is not as big a problem as it’s advertised to be.
On the contrary, short attention spans are perfectly normal human nature. Which is why you need to understand that the most effective way of working, is in bite-sized pieces. You can make the idea of so much prep work a little less unbearable by creating 45-minute sessions and punctuating them with your rewards on successful completion of each session: a 15-minute break.
Use these breaks to recuperate by doing something that you love or grabbing a quick snack. Just keep a watch close to you, because you never know when those 15-minute breaks may turn into hourlong escapades.
Checks and balances.
The biggest challenge for us procrastinators is presented not by the sheer amount of workload on our shoulders, but by our flagrant lack of self-control. And the only conceivable cure for this is an effective monitory mechanism.
In other words, a parent, sibling or friend who can nag you when you’re at your laziest. I know that sounds like it could get really nasty, but it’s the most effective. How’s that? Well, even in the worst case scenario, you would end up doing all your work simply because you’re just terribly annoyed from all the haranguing, and would do anything to make it stop.
The Distractometer.
Target what distracts you most. It could be anything, ranging from Facebook notifications and Snapchat stories to Tumblr communities and viral videos. To make sure none of these come back to haunt you, you must make only one sacrifice the Internet Gods: your cellphone.
Now you (if you’re a student) may call me a decadent blasphemer for even saying that, but trust me, until you put your electronic media away, you’ll be stuck forever in academic quicksand. So muster up all your courage and power off your phone, or at least put it on Airplane mode.
Will you be my study mate?
This concept sounds completely ridiculous and futile to some people. But here are the facts – according to surveys, studying collaboratively keeps you on track and focused on the tasks ahead.
What’s more, it will also fill all the potential loopholes in both your study plans and make you both better informed: a win-win situation. Just remember that you should pick somebody who’s not easily distracted, and as focused as you are, if not more.
