College Tips: Putting the PRO in Procrastination

Hello,  this is Andrew, and I’m a citizen of The ProcrastiNATION looking to immigrate to the real world.

Let me tell you about one of the worst things in the college lifestyle…………

Here’s the issue: There are lots of classes, which means lots of assignments, but there’s ALWAYS something else to do. So, when you’re supposed to be studying, writing a paper, or working on a project, your mind will feed you images to tempt you away from responsibility:

And so you put off the work for a few hours, and when you return your paper looks like this:

A few weeks ago, I had probably the worst night of the entire semester. It was a dark and stormy night, filled with  terror and creepy-crawlies and bad guys. Okay, not the creepy-crawlies and bad guys, but that might have been better than what I actually did. I waited until 10:30 P.M. to START a 3-Page Paper in Spanish. Not just a paper for Spanish class, but a whole paper written in Spanish. This might not be so bad if it were my native language, but rest assured, it is not. I settled into a study room and buckled up for the long haul. After I called or texted my friends in the class to share in the bond of misery (as Hannah Terry says), I started the paper. And it was horrible.

The first thing my professor said when she assigned the paper was to not wait until the last night to start. But… As Jonah headed for Tarshish instead of Ninevah, I ran to do fun things instead of writing my paper.

And by the end of the night, it felt like I had been swallowed by a fish and spit back into my dorm room. Anyway, with some determination, encouragement from a friend who helped look things up in his English to Spanish dictionary, and a few turns of the clock, I finished the paper!

YOLO, right?

RIGHT! Which is why you should do it right the first time.

Some tips for doing it right the first time:

1: Start Early

The Due Date isn’t the same thing as the “Do” Date. It’s not going to hurt you to start on the assignment before the day it’s due.

2: Spread It Out

If you have a big project to do, or a long paper to write, break it up into manageable goals. For example, if you have a 3 page paper due, give yourself a few days and write a page a day.

3: Just Do It

To me, the hardest part of any assignment is the beginning. If my paper was a roller coaster, the first paragraph would be the big hill at the beginning that takes forever to go up and the rest of the paper would be the part that just flows. It’s the initial part that takes so much effort. So don’t get scared, JUST DO IT

Finishing early will let you be more prepared for class, get more sleep and have more opportunity to have fun without ditching your responsibilities. So, when you want to play Call of Duty, or go chill with friends, or even build a snowman, you can.

Peace Out Girl Scouts,

Andrew, Sophomore Blogger, Wannabe Responsible Student, Batman (Ok, probably not)