College Chronicles: A Procrastinator's Guide to Getting Things Done

Admit it, procrastinating is something that we all do to some extent.

In fact, the results of a meta-analysis by psychologist Piers Steel at the University of Calgary in 2007 reported that 80 percent to 95 percent of college students procrastinate on their coursework.

So sure, you have an endless list of assignments to complete, exams to study for, and not to mention three loads of laundry and a growing stack of dishes waiting to be washed... but why not a coffee break first? Or, why not binge watch that new season of your favorite show on Netflix? Or oh, even better—take a nap, perhaps?

We always want to put the hard work and responsibility aside for as long as possible and instead loiter in our lazy, habitual ways.

Take right now for example; you're procrastinating by reading an article about procrastinating. Perhaps I, myself, am even procrastinating by writing this article about procrastinating (accurate)... but regardless, I'm here to help!

So without further ado, enjoy these (hopefully) helpful tips to get your mind out of that lethargic gutter!

1) Set goals (and rewards?) for yourself!

Perseverance is far more easily achieved with proper self-rewards—so set up a productive system for yourself! The whole idea of this method is to make the task more manageable by delving it up into seemingly smaller, less intimidating installments of work.

For example: Writing an essay?

• Goal 1: Start your research and choose a topic. (Reward: Take a quick snack break to get all of your creative juices flowing!)

• Goal 2: Gather sources and start an outline, organize your thoughts. (Reward: Phone break! Indulge your social addiction, take a few minutes to get your fix before its time to get back to work!)

• Goal 3: Develop and articulate your ideas in a rough draft. (Reward: Coffee! Tea! Any delightful beverage or sweet treat to keep you going, really.)

• Goal 4: Go through and polish your paper, revise and add/detract information as needed. (Reward: Listen to some music, color something, stretch, take a little break, and relax! You're almost done!)

• Goal 5: Cite sources and format your paper accordingly. (Reward: Take a nap! Eat! Go watch some Netflix! Anything you would like really, you've earned it!)

Voila! In five simple and easy steps, you have productively completed the paper that you've been dreading for over half of the semester!

This method works for really any assignment, not just essays! Apply your Goals and Rewards system to everything on your to-do list; complete readings a few chapters at a time with rewards in between, take those study guide questions three by three and knock them all out in a timely fashion!

The great thing about this system, also, is that your pace is completely up to you! You decide how many goals there are, how much work is to be completed per goal, how big of a reward you receive, etc... it's all left up to your personal discretion!

2) Physical/Visual Incentive!

It is always an amazing feeling to finish a huge assignment and cross it off of the lengthy to-do list in your mind—but what could make that even better, you ask? Physically crossing it off of your to-do list!

Keep a piece of paper or a page in your notebook updated with all of the reading pages, assignments, and essays that you need to get done (along with their deadlines, if you'd like to be extra organized), and as you complete each task, cross it out with a nice thick line of color (or however you would like to do it).

By providing yourself with this sort of physical/visual incentive, you get a sweet sense of relief each time you are able to successfully cross something off of your list.

Additionally, it's always nice to see the list get a little bit shorter each time you cross a task off as well!

3) Back away from the bed!

That's right, get out of your room!

I know how comfortable that bed looks; more than anything, you just want to snuggle up underneath the covers, lay your head down on your favorite pillow, and take a nap for a few hours... but we have a lot of work to do here!

A study that was conducted at the University of Michigan showed that a group of students that switched rooms to study the provided material, as opposed to the group that remained in the same room to study, scored an average of 21% or higher on the follow-up test!

Not sure where to go? Here are a few ideas!

• Make use of your campus or local library (there will be plenty of super comfy chairs available for you to sit and be productive in, don't worry).

• Take yourself out for lunch and cozy up to write your paper in a comfy booth with a scrumptious snack.

• Go to a park! Take in the view! Let the fresh scenery become your academic muse!

• Visit your local coffeeshop and take advantage of the liquid motivation that they're serving!

The options are truly endless, and switching up your usual scenery can really do wonders for keeping yourself on task and present in your coursework.

4) Minimize distractions!

This should go without saying, but you really need to be able to concentrate if you're expecting to get your work done in a timely manner!

That being said, put away the cellphone. Out of sight, out of mind; your best bet is to silence your phone and stick it in a drawer, or better yet, let someone keep a hold of it for you while you are meant to be doing productive things with your time.

Other distractions to be mindful of include, but are not limited to, the following: TV, the World Wide Web (if you are using a laptop for your work—it's all up to you to stay on task!), other people in your nearby surroundings, music, and even pets!

Depending on how easily distracted you are, it is best to find a place in which you can both work and study diligently, while being out of the way of these many potential interruptions.

5) Being Held Accountable!

As human beings, it's simply in our nature to want to please others rather than to disappoint or let them down.

That being said, tell others about your goals! Tell them what your goals are and when you would like them to be met.

In doing this, your mindset switches from "oh, I really don't want to write this ten page research paper" to "oh, I told (insert name of accountability partner here) that I was going to finish this paper by (insert goal date here), I really need to get started on that right away!"

Put yourself out there; tell a friend, a family member, a peer, a professor, or even make a post about your goals on social media!

Regardless of who you choose to tell, that person (or group of people) will be in charge of regularly asking you about how your work is coming—serving as a constant reminder that you need to get things done and that if you don't, people will notice! If that's not a surefire incentive, I don't know what is.

6) Have fun!

Studying or doing coursework doesn't always have to be a terribly drab occasion; why not find a few ways to make the experience at least slightly more enjoyable?

One way that you could easily add some pizazz into your work is by introducing a little bit of color! Use bright highlighters, sticky notes, colored pencils/pens, markers, etc... to accentuate your reading or to create a study guide! Not only will this make the task of completing an assignment more enjoyable while giving you a little bit of a creative buzz, it will also help you to remember things better when studying if you adapt a color-coded system of sorts!

To further your creative spouts whilst studying—doodle! It doesn't hurt to draw a quick sketch in the margins of your page, especially if you draw something related to your study material! In doing this, you have found another way to make work fun but also to be more likely to retain the information on the page! You'll think back to your drawing, then to the material that it was meant to be illustrating, and bam! You've effectively stayed on task and managed to ace that part of the test!

Another way to excite the process is to race yourself! Observe a task, decide how long you will allow yourself to complete said task, set a timer, and get going! By creating little games for yourself while you work, it makes the time seem to pass a little faster and effectively makes the task seem much less tedious!

BONUS! Check out these useful apps, specifically designed to kick the habit of procrastination!

• Procraster: This awesome application serves as a tool to identify the root of your habitual procrastination and then provides you with useful tips and resources for becoming more productive!

• Forest: Is your phone the primary source of your procrastination? Well, Forest is here to help. This app allows you to "plant" a tree within the app whenever you would like to focus on something (such as an assignment) without the distraction of your cellular device. Each half hour, a new tree will spring up as long as you stay within the app. If you pick up your phone and exit the application, your tree will die. The concept seems a bit silly at first, but once you begin to use the app, it actually becomes pretty effective and simulates a sort of game or challenge—focus on your work and be productive, otherwise kill your tree. It's as simple as that.

• Finish: "The To-Do List for Procrastinators!" Input your short-term and long-term assignments and receive looming alerts as your deadline nears! Finish alerts will continue to pester you until the very last second, until you finish the task and check it off of your virtual list. This app is super awesome because it actually serves as a sort of accountability partner, as mentioned earlier in tip #5!

(Fun Fact: I procrastinated finishing this article for four entire days. I should really take my own advice. Best of luck to those of you that are reading this on all of your future efforts to beat procrastination!)