Procrastination! Yes, what's it about? What does it even mean? I bet you may have heard of the word but do not really know the meaning. Alright, let's see what it means.
To procrastinate means to put off, delay, wait until later before you carry out an activity. I'm sure you've accessed yourself and found out that you're soo guilty of this. That book you were suppose to read but you put it off to watch Chelsea beat Arsenal, or chat Tinuke on whatsapp; Your room which is begging you to sweep it, or is it your clothes that haven't seen soap and water for months..haha!
About 20% of people today identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. People who constantly put off the very important things they really need to do, and that is because procrastination is about lying to yourself. Telling yourself; "aaah..I have 3 full weeks, I'll have plenty of time to read that book before exam, let me just hang out a little bit", or "I'll do the laundry when I finish face-booking".
In a recent study, 2 groups of university students were assigned to write 3 articles in 3 weeks. Group A was given the opportunity to report back and turn in their work anytime within the 3 weeks. Group B on the other hand, had very strict deadlines for each paper. Ultimately, the ones who did exceptionally well on the articles, were the ones who had strict deadlines. Group B on the other hand performed poorly.
Clearly, humans are not good at regulating themselves.
Let's see 3 incredible steps you'll use to trick yourself into stopping procrastination and move to a greater height in your education; Ready?
Step 1: Organize The Task Into Bit Sized Segments
Ok procrastinator!, Think about that one big project you rally need to get done! Big right? But calm down. Instead of letting the project scare you? organize it into smaller manageable segments, plan and possibly, write down ways you're going use to tackle the project hour by hour and make it specific. For example, lets say you've been assigned to make a paper presentation in one week on
a particular topic, you could break the whole task into something like this;
Day 1: Research on the paper (i.e search the internet, library or any other valid source)
Day 2: Gather and collect all useful materials you got after the research
Day 3: Carefully go through these materials and jot down valid points.
Day 4,5 & 6: With your acquired knowledge, Write! (It may not take this long)
Day 7: Revise and Edit your work carefully.
The hardest part about starting a project is always, starting the project. A way to get around this is to start the task with the smaller parts that you like best. Listen, when you do something you like, your brain releases dopamins which makes you happy. So look for that part you like best and start!
Step 3: Clear Distractions!
Recent study show that social networks like Facebook, whats-app, twitter, Instagram and the lots if them are largely responsible for the low performance of students in academics.
You should plan to clear distractions that will fuel your ability to procrastinate. For example: say you're always tempted to pick up your phone and initiate a conversation with a friend on whatsapp or even chat up someone who is completely not interested in your chat , and you got this test coming up in 2 days, or this paper you have to work on and submit soon. You could handover your phone to your rommiee and tell him/her to only hand it to you when there's a call, or when you want to make a call.
The less temptations you give into, or have the ability to give into, the better you'll be at Acing that test/exam or completing that project.
So, Get up and Start that Project now!!!
The less temptations you give into, or have the ability to give into, the better you'll be at Acing that test/exam or completing that project.
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