What student hasn’t put off important things for later? More precisely – until the very last moment. More precisely – when it was necessary to learn, write or pass it yesterday. In the common people, this is laziness. Scientifically – procrastination. Whatever the name of the phenomenon, let’s try to get rid of it, or (let’s be realistic) at least reduce it.
Why put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow?
Procrastination is an ancient phenomenon. The word comes from the Latin (mother of all European languages) procrastinatio, which means “to postpone.” And if you dig even deeper, then pro is “in honor”, crastio is “tomorrow.”
Probably, there is no such person who, at least sometimes, would not procrastinate. But if it becomes a lifestyle, it greatly interferes: in school, work, on the personal front.
Procrastination. How to overcome
We admit honestly: they postpone mostly what they don’t like, unpleasant, and would like to never do it at all. If they want to give you a million dollars right now, it is unlikely that you will go to receive them sometime later. But learning Latin, solving problems or writing a diploma is easy.
Therefore, if you can never do at all what the soul does not lie to, it is better not to start. Unfortunately, this does not apply to students – people who are servants. So … read on.
Psychologists believe that procrastination may be associated with perfectionism. Like, if I can’t achieve a perfect result, then I don’t even want to start.
If this is your case, track this thought down. Resign yourself and … do it somehow. Better then finalize. Otherwise, you will simply be expelled from the university.
These two reasons, of course, are not limited to the occurrence of procrastination. But they are the most common.
For example, quite a few people, on the contrary, are afraid of success and postpone starting any business. Others need to work only for a certain remuneration, and if it is vague and delayed in time (receiving a diploma for a freshman, recognition of scientific work, which may take place closer to retirement), then they do not want to start anything.
If you understand the reason for procrastination, it will become really easier to deal with it. The fact is that this reason usually does not lie on the surface, but hides in the subconscious, and a person sincerely does not understand why, instead of doing important work, he surfs the Internet, starts a general cleaning, strokes a cat, etc.
Well, if you postpone even the search for the reasons … Better to start the fight right away.
First. The main thing is to start
Yes, yes, just get started. Anything. Do not wait for inspiration, a sign from the Universe or a “kick” from a teacher. For example, you don’t write a course book or a diploma – at least open Word, adjust the font, size, spacing and margins, and just type whatever comes to mind. Once you see, you will get involved and start editing.
Second. All the worst – at once
Break the unpleasant work into pieces and start with the most disgusting. Make it a volitional effort – there is a high probability that the rest of the points, not so scary, and procrastination will go somewhere.
Third. Small steps – towards a big goal
Small steps theory works. Even that unpleasant part that one does not want to do subconsciously and consciously can and should be broken up. Perform each step, for example, 15 minutes. And after you are ready, reward yourself with something pleasant, take a break. Then start the timer again for a quarter of an hour.
Fourth. Switch
Our brain tends to be overloaded, figuratively speaking. If something is not given in the process (solving a problem, finding the necessary information, etc.), step back for a while and do something radically different. Only again on a timer. Or, if it’s already night outside, go to bed. After a break, a second wind may open, and you will finish the work that you did not want to do at all easily and quickly.
Fifth. As soon as you remember the case – take time for it.
Let’s say a brilliant idea (a paragraph for a graduation thesis, a new version of a laboratory, etc.) came up during a party. You can safely forget about it, but it’s better to quickly get out any gadget and write down or utter a thought. When you return to her in a work setting, say thank you to yourself.
As you can see, the ways to combat procrastination are not complicated at all. The problem is that people who procrastinate don’t even try to fight it. But if you make an effort on yourself and start, we guarantee that you will like it, there will definitely be a positive effect.
