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14 Simple & Effective Ways to Stop Procrastinating
Last Updated: December 9, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Sharon Lee and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Sharon Lee is a Success Strategist and the Owner of Fearless Pursuits. With over seven years of experience, she specializes in helping others gain clarity on their goals, build confidence, and remain accountable towards their goals. Sharon offers advice to others through life coaching, career coaching, and small business coaching. Sharon holds a Strategic Intervention Coach Certification from Robbins-Madanes Training and has additional training from Erickson Coaching International. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,073,396 times.
Do you have a hard time staying on task? Do you constantly leave things on your to-do list till the last minute? If so, you’re likely procrastinating. Procrastination can stem from stress, frustration, or perfectionism. No matter why you may be procrastinating, there are many ways to break the habit and get back on task. Check out this list of the best tips and tricks to overcome procrastination and stay motivated.
Write a to-do list to set goals.
- Write this list on paper or in your phone—do whatever’s best for you!
Tackle your most important task for 15 minutes.
- If 15 minutes still sounds too intimidating, start with 3 or 5 minutes to warm yourself up.
- Once the timer goes off, take a 2-minute break. Then, start up on another set of 15 minutes of work.
Break tasks down into small chunks.
- For example, instead of thinking, “I need to finish this essay before 10 PM tonight,” tell yourself, “I’m going to make a short outline, fill that in, and then look for quotes.”
- Consider trying a specific technique like Pomodoro, in which you work from 25-minute chunks and take 5-minute breaks in between.
- Avoid making a long, disorganized to-do list. This is just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, create subcategories like "Home," "Work," "Family," and "Fun" and try to cross off a few entries from each list every day.
- Similarly, avoid multitasking or working on more than 1 task at once, as this could make you feel overwhelmed or stressed.
Start your day with the hardest tasks.
- Keep in mind that this strategy isn’t for everyone, so stick to tackling your most difficult tasks whenever you feel the most motivated.
- For instance, if you're a morning person, do your toughest work right after you wake up. On the other hand, if you tend to be groggy in the morning, you risk making careless errors or frustration by going headfirst into a difficult task.
Prioritize goals with set deadlines.
- Use a planner to help schedule your time and stay motivated.
Pick a workspace that works for you.
- For some, being in a new environment helps motivate them to work. Try bringing your work or task to a local library, coffee shop, or bookstore to feel inspired.
Use apps to prevent online distractions.
- AppDetox uses blockage rules that only let you use selected apps for a set amount of time.
- Forest grows trees for however long you stay focused.
- Freedom blocks distractions on all your devices at once.
- Self-Control blocks a list of websites for set amounts of time.
- Cold Turkey Blocker schedules system-wide blocking.
Put your phone in a different room.
- If you need to keep your phone on for family or work-related reasons, turn off all your notifications except for texts and/or calls.
Listen to music without lyrics.
Promise yourself a reward.
- Try rewarding yourself with a meal at your favorite restaurant, seeing a movie with a friend, or buying yourself something you’ve always wanted.
- Be careful not to over-reward yourself. Stick with small end-of-the-day rewards, and save big celebrations for when you accomplish something tremendous.
Give yourself a pep talk for motivation.
- Self-talk by saying something like, “Dariel, I know this week has been hard, and you’re tired. You’ve written a million essays before, and you’ll rock this.” [15] X Research source
- You can also ask yourself questions: “Amari, why are you nervous about this? You know you can handle it.”
- Self-talk out loud if you can. It’ll also work in your head if you’re in a public place.
Stop punishing yourself for procrastinating.
Aim for completion over perfection.
Ask someone to hold you accountable.
- Try planning fun outings with each other to reward yourself for meeting your goals.
- Hold accountability meetings each week or month to catch each other up on whether or not you’re meeting your goals and deadlines.
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- If you’re suffering from anxiety or depression associated with your procrastination, talk to your doctor or therapist. It’s okay to ask for help. You don’t have to go through this alone. [18] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Tips from our Readers
- Turn off the Wi-Fi on your devices and do any work that doesn't involve the internet first. That will help you eliminate the internet and social media as a distraction.
- Make it a game by racing yourself. For example, if you have to clean your room, set a timer for 10 minutes. During that time, try to get as much done as possible.
- Each day, choose 3 important tasks that you need to do. Reward yourself in some way once you've done those things. It will help motivate you to get more done.
You Might Also Like
- ↑ Sharon Lee. Success Strategist. Expert Interview. 2 December 2021.
- ↑ https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination#.WVK-49Pytok
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/why-you-cant-help-read-this-article-about-procrastination-instead-of-doing-your-job/
- ↑ https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/5-reasons-to-do-that-hard-task-early
- ↑ https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix
- ↑ http://www.pcworld.com/article/2094846/read-this-now-7-clever-mobile-apps-to-conquer-procrastination.html
- ↑ https://zapier.com/blog/stay-focused-avoid-distractions/
- ↑ https://www.boisestate.edu/coen-mbe/2021/04/20/5-ways-to-stop-procrastinating/
- ↑ https://www.nu.edu/blog/can-music-help-you-study-and-focus/
- ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/03/25/why-you-procrastinate-and-how-to-stop-it-now/#534f88081837
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201505/the-voice-reason
- ↑ https://www.npr.org/2021/01/11/955692434/procrastination-is-more-than-putting-things-off-heres-how-to-kick-the-habit
- ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/procrastination/
About This Article
To stop procrastinating, turn off your phone and play white noise or music without lyrics to help you focus. Break your task into small chunks that you can tackle one by one and work hard for 15-minute intervals, giving yourself short breaks in between to help you stay on task. Aim to finish the task, not make it perfect—you can always fix it when you’re done. Give yourself a quick pep talk to get you going and promise yourself a reward, like a sweet treat or funny video, when you’re all done. If you want to learn how to make a distraction-free space where you can focus on work, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > School Life Balance > How To Stop Procrastinating? Helpful Tips for College Students!
School Life Balance , Tips for Online Students
How To Stop Procrastinating? Helpful Tips for College Students!
Updated: June 19, 2024
Published: December 30, 2019
In this article
Your to-do list is piling up, but you’d rather do anything than start crossing items off your list. From procrastinating studying to procrastinating submitting that assignment, most college students wish they know how to stop procrastinating.
Did you know that there are actual reasons why you’re likely procrastinating? So, if you can overcome these barriers, it may get easier to know how to not procrastinate. We’ll share them so that you can maximize your time management skills and be your best self as a college student.
Why Do Students Procrastinate?
At any point in your student lift, you may find yourself taking longer to get things done than necessary. That will lead you to want to know how to not procrastinate on homework, studying, assignments, and chores.
Let’s first break down the common reasons why college students procrastinate in the first place. Some or all of these reasons may resonate with your own experience.
Unclear goals
If you have no clearly defined goals as to what you wish to accomplish, it could be harder to understand why you have to do certain things.
Fear of failure
An all too common occurrence is that those who procrastinate actually are just afraid to fail. So, they’d rather not start to avoid this potentially displeasing sentiment.
If there’s a lot going on in your school life and/or personal life, you may feel unsure how or where to even start.
You could feel worried or anxious about the potential outcomes of whatever you have to get done, be it a homework assignment or test results.
Perfectionism
Often in line with the fear of failure comes the idea of perfectionism. When you have the goal of everything being perfect, then you may never want to start something to avoid any flaws or mistakes (which are inevitable).
Lack of motivation
It could be possible you feel a lack of motivation because goals are too far out in the future or are unclearly defined
Perhaps, the most important thing to do is to ask yourself why you are procrastinating in the first place. This could prove to be a useful exercise because you may have to tackle the more deeply rooted issue and the shackles of procrastination will be released.
For example, you could fear that you don’t know how to do something, and to get started, you simply need to know a little more information or ask for help to understand a concept. Once you do that, you could find yourself easily finishing the required assignment.
How to Stop Procrastinating in College
Now that we’ve covered some of the reasons why students procrastinate in the first place, let’s take a look at some best practices to learn how to stop procrastinating.
Get Organized
To avoid the sense of overwhelm of having too much to do or not knowing where to start, organization proves to be crucial. It’s a great idea to use tools that help you stay organized, whether they are calendars or scheduling apps on your computer or the trusted old-school method of writing things down. Consider writing down upcoming assignments and deadlines, estimating how long the task will take you to perform, and counting backward from the due date to give yourself adequate time to get it done.
Of course, it still comes down to you having the motivation to start rather than procrastinate, but it’s easier to do when you have a clear idea of what you need to get done and by when.
Set Deadlines and Reasonable Goals
If you’re a person who procrastinates because your goals seem unattainable, then consider resetting your goals. While you can’t choose when assignments are due, you can choose when you want to have it ready by. In the same vein, you can’t choose when test dates are, but you can choose when to start studying. You can break down these items into smaller, achievable segments so that you can maintain momentum and feel accomplished. For example, if you have a 10-page research paper due, consider setting a goal to finish two pages per day so you can avoid having to write it fast.
Remove Distractions
Sometimes, the only way to want to get things done is to have no other alternative. You can position yourself for this scenario by removing distractions. Put your phone in another room. Turn off the TV. Tell your friends that you’re busy. Then, you can free up your own time to get your to-do list crossed off.
Take Breaks
Getting things done doesn’t have to feel tiring or undesirable. Remember to relieve yourself of your efforts and give yourself breaks. This can also help to increase your motivation to get things done because you can look forward to the upcoming break. And, you can make your break as fun or as relaxing as you see fit. Some examples of break ideas you can try after you accomplish items on your list include: walking, cooking, calling a friend, scrolling through social media, playing with your dog, taking a nap, etc.
Reward Yourself
In the same way that breaks can serve as rewards and help to boost your motivation, so can actual rewards! Depending on what you enjoy, you can set rewards both big and small accordingly. Say you enjoy food and trying new eateries. Tell yourself that if you ace your next big exam, you’ll treat yourself to a dining experience at the restaurant you’ve always wanted to try. Or, if you like fashion, then buy yourself something new when you finish your semester with a good GPA.
Ask for Help
If you’re struggling to hold yourself accountable, ask your peers or friends for help. You can help each other meet deadlines if you are unable to maintain your own self-control. Having people around you who will support you in reaching your goals and aspirations can help to manage your motivation levels as you are answerable to people besides yourself.
The Bottom Line
While there is no single answer as to how to stop procrastinating for college students, there are different behaviors and habits that you can try to overcome this common challenge.
So, if you’re a constant procrastinator or you find yourself stuck these days more than before, try to figure out why. Then, practice some of the above tips to overcome any mental hurdles.
At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone. Read More
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