There are too many reasons for procrastination.
Negative effects of procrastination are wide-ranging and may affect your academic progress and success. Recognise episodes of procrastination and your reasons for it to avoid repetition in the future.
To defeat procrastination, you must:
- Remove distractions
- Be more organised
- Be realistic with your goals
- Clarify your tasks and expectations
- Acknowledge and reward your past successes
- Share your goals with others to accept responsibility
- Apply time management strategies given in the next section.
Tackle the tough tasks first when studying or undertaking ‘life admin’ and chores. Once they’re out of the way, the next items on the list won’t seem so hard. This approach doesn’t work for everyone, however.
If you find yourself procrastinating due to an important looming task, there’s a mental trick you can use to get back on track.
Make a ‘To Do’ list, placing chores and projects with flexible deadlines at the top. Then, place your study task somewhere near the middle. Once you’ve ticked off a few ‘top priority’ tasks, your study or assignment will seem much more achievable. It’s call Productive Procrastination, and it sure is weird, but apparently it works.
Some other great resources for helping you manger your time:
- If you need a bit of extra guidance, the Library and Learning Services team can help advise you on managing your time and creating a schedule and routine that is realistic and that works for you.
- Visit the time management page on Achieve@Uni. The Achieve@Uni site has recently been refreshed and now includes a downloadable Weekly Planner, Term Planner and Semester 1 2022 planner, as well as some helpful information on study skills.
- One-on-one help for time management is available from our PLAs. Book an appointment with an Academic Skills and Language Advisor or drop-in to see a PLA.
- If you’re struggling to stay focused and need some health and wellbeing support, our Health and Wellbeing Centre can help. Visit our Health and Wellbeing Centre to find support.