Battling Relentless Procrastination

Jun 4, 2023 . 2 min read

Procrastination is a common human experience, which everyone will inevitably experience, particularly as we rapidly approach exam week! Unfortunately, it is impossible to eliminate procrastination, and it is a formidable battle that we must continually endure. However, as an avid procrastinator, here are some of my tips to keep this urge at bay.

Set Up a Schedule that Allows Breaks:

When creating your daily/weekly schedule, it is extremely important to make your goals realistic and achievable. There is nothing worse than attacking an impossible task and feeling unproductive after a long day of working! My personal tip is also to schedule downtime, whether this be to go to the gym, read a book, or scroll through TikTok, it allows us to get out some rest periods during the day so you don’t feel as burnt out!

Reduce Distraction (Not Eliminate):

Often when studying, one notification for me could send me on a 1 hour personal break before I even realise I left the task I was doing! A tip from me is to set your devices to ‘Do Not Disturb’ and stick to a study space that has little movement around it to reduce daydreaming triggers!

Find Purpose in Your Work:

One of my old procrastination triggers was struggling to find the purpose of completing an extremely dull assignment and how it was benefitting me. So now when I approach these feelings, I remind myself of the degree I am studying for and the future I want for myself, and view the assignment as a small hurdle which will push me further towards my goal.

Finally, remember that not all days will be productive and that is okay! Just keep track of how much you are progressing with your productivity.

My best of luck to all my fellow procrastinators!

By Harriet Vitek (Publications Co-Director)