# Procrastination is killing me.



## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

Hi guys. I'm hoping to get some advice from anyone here who has been able to take control of their procrastination. I am a freshmen in college, and have been stressing myself the hell out by waiting until the last minute for everything. I came into school this year with much more aptitude and zeal for learning, it's just my old habits still have a firm grip on me. I seriously love and enjoy the learning process, it's hard for me to get into my work mode. I'm surrounded by distractions and am hyperactive. Can anyone who is dealing with similar problems please share their experience, I don't want to put myself through this and end up ruing my entire school year. I am definitely capable of getting good grades and putting in the work, getting in the zone is the hard part. In classes I enjoy--like philosophy and english--I have no problem knocking out the work. It's mainly my Computer Science class (I love the actual coding aspect) where I have trouble forcing myself through 50 pages of context which is drier than death valley. I have a nonexistent social life, so people, partying, and drinking/drugs are not even remotely in the picture. Thanks.

I'm fairly sure I have ADHD, but I'm opposed to taking adderall or any kind of amphetamine derivative. Plus, I've seen many cases of people with ADHD who _naturally_ overcome the inattentiveness and end up thriving and being highly creative anomaly in their field of work.


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## lucia4 (Sep 5, 2014)

I'm going to a similar situation, so please do post advice. xD

Currently in a total rut where I can't motivate myself to work. Just sit behind my laptop watching videos and surfing the internet. Blah.


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

1) Work before play, everyday... whatever "play" is. It may be as simple as logging on your computer and dwindling your hours away. 90% of procrastination is a series of bad habits which eat up your time. I'm the master of procrastination, so I know. I know the answer to it too... you break the habit of getting back to your room and logging on the computer and spending 4 hours doing nothing important.

2) Do the exact opposite of "I'll wait until later." You do it as soon as you get it, and it's physically possible to do it.

3) If you really, really do not want to do something immediately, bargain with yourself and pick something that needs to be done, and that you're more in the mood to do. "Don't want to do calculus! I'll do history right now, instead." In this way, you can make yourself feel a bit better in the process of getting things done quickly.

4) You *must* have a work place if you are a bad procrastinator. When I get home, I want to relax and log on the computer. This is a bad habit of mine. This means, I can't work at home. Later on in college, I discovered that if I went to a computer lab, and treated it like it were my work office, I could get more work done without getting distracted. You schedule yourself time every week to be somewhere else than home or the dorm, and you go there to focus on work. When you are there, it's all business.

5) Lists. This helps me because I can forget things. I always make todo lists, and when I am going to be somewhere working, I have a list of things to accomplish in that time period. If I get really, really busy, I'll go so far as to make schedules for myself, where I estimate how much time each task takes and schedule each day out. I do this more now that I'm working, than I did in college. If you can break the bad habits, and locate yourself in a work-zone, then following a list is possible. If you just make a list, and don't do the other steps, you'll ignore the list and it wont work.

6) For big projects, you have to create a timetable and break the project into parts. " I'll work on part A on this day, and part B on this day." You make this schedule up as soon as you get the project, and then you go to your work-zone and work on it. Even if you end up procrastinating some, this procrastination becomes manageable, because you're only trying to do 50% at the last minute, instead of starting the project from scratch.


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## hal0hal0 (Sep 1, 2012)

^ That probably doesn't help, does it?

On a more serious note, the best advice I can offer is to "chunk" your time (i.e., break it up into bite-sized manageable pieces), if the source of you procrastination centers around simply being overwhelmed by what you "should" be doing (i.e,. the superego little voice in your head that frowns upon procrastination). 

There are more hours in the day than you might think, and it isn't a question of how many hours you are productive so much as the quality of say, 15-30 minutes here or there. I would rather a student (I used to tutor students a lot myself) spend 1 hour of quality studying a bit at a time than cram for hours and hours at a time. My dad has often told us it's pretty amazing what one can get done in 30 minutes when you consolidate that time and say... "OK for this next 30 minutes, I will focus on finishing this one piece." Even if it's just half a chapter or a few pages, it's the quality of the time that counts, rather than "how much" you are doing. Otherwise, you are just going through the motions.

Doing a little bit at a time, with frequent breaks, I find, is often times a better way to be productive than say "I'm gonna study all day!" That's just unrealistic.

One of my coworkers at the tutoring center was this amazingly brilliant guy and I was surprised to learn he only studies for about 15 minutes at a time.

Of course, you need to find the balance that works for you. And while, yes, breaks are important, you paradoxically have to be "disciplined" with your play time and "relaxed" with your study time, I find. It's a weird balance, but for me, at least, it works (better at least than forcing myself and driving myself with the whip and personal admonishment).

Fingers crossed!

edit: reading OP, if 50 pages is too daunting... then try skim reading to get the most important points... Are you reading simply to complete the 50 pages or to actually extract useful and meaningful information from that book?

Also... 50 pages *is* a lot for pretty much anything. So how about in the next 1/2 hour, you focus on one section of that chapter (i.e., 10 pages).


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## Redifining Cool (Aug 22, 2014)

You could try procrastination hypnosis

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hivebrain.andrewjohnson.procrastination&hl=en

It does make a real boost, though lately for me I'm still somewhat sedated after it so I don't use it anymore.

He offers a free relaxation one I think, you can try that and if hypnosis affects you then the procrastination one should too.


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## Reticence (Aug 10, 2014)

@kev

Go read up on the science of motivation, that's pretty helpful usually.

Things to consider:

1. Improve your overall quality of life/outlook. You think its not related, but it really is.
Your overall "mood" going through life can affect your actions in so many ways.

2. Spend time writing down why you need to actually do all of this crap. 
(I know it's a painful process, but it really does help once you get the hang of doing it.)

3. Exercise. I'm not kidding even a little bit. 
Lot's of hormonal/endocrine responses to moderate physical exertion.

4. Earplugs are wonderful. 
You could also try white-noise playing through headphones, but it can get unnerving. 

5. Reward yourself for studying. Small rewards. Put some jelly beans or something at random points in your textbook reading, and eat them once you get to them. Engage in 30 minute learning cycles, 20 minutes of studying, 10 minutes of free thought (have something planned to do in that time, like a puzzle, or these forums, or some music you've wanted to listen to, or a TV series, etc.)

I'd say, in order of effectiveness (at least it was for me) 1 3 5 2 4


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## Biracial (Sep 8, 2010)

Surround yourself with people who are getting shit done.


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## prplchknz (Nov 30, 2010)

Biracial said:


> Surround yourself with people who are getting shit done.


I tried that, didn't work I just felt guilty. for some people that works for me it didn't. So maybe it will work for him, I can't say.


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## mysterie (Jul 16, 2014)

find a study buddy!! :3 :3


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## Biracial (Sep 8, 2010)

Are you depressed?


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## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

Biracial said:


> Are you depressed?


Yes, and I could see how that is a contributing factor to procrastination. Sadly, I don't have complete control over my happiness, so I will have to work around the barricades my mind has built.


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## Golden Rose (Jun 5, 2014)

This thread speaks to me on a spiritual level, I'll try some of those tips.


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## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

Hotaru said:


> This thread speaks to me on a spiritual level, I'll try some of those tips.


I'm glad other people were able to benefit as much as I have from this thread. :kitteh:


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## QueenVasant (Sep 14, 2014)

If you're an ambitious type, just see it as something that you want to overcome. 
Or better yet master. 

Don't stress too much about it. In fact, don't view it as 'work' or something that seems like a chore.
There's procrastination and then there's procrastinating effectively. You can do that through:

*1. Leaving the workload up until the right moment. * Not right after you've gotten the assignment, and not an hour before you turn it in. Give yourself a couple days ahead. The time constraints alone can motivate you as well as improve the way you approach the workload, some kind of strategy to get in the zone. I suspect the right kind music would help, especially if the work is routine ridden and mundane. 

Also I don't really think you have ADHD, maybe. There's ADHD and there's 'deliberate ADHD', in a way is a form of self-sabotage. But mostly likely the cause is monotony and boredom. Or maybe an unconscious behaviour. Nonetheless we move onto:

*2. Move around, exercise, stretch often. Sing even.*

*3. Think about the long term. Set viable but awesome goals. * It can help motivate you through your current dilemma.

*4. Take frequent breaks* (I really had to learn this one). Set a timer for maybe a 5-10 minute break every hour and go get a nutritious snack. 

*5 Take naps throughout the day.* No more than 26 minutes and no less than 10 in to avoid feeling groggy. This will make you feel refreshed every time.

And finally;

*6. Learn to love that subject. *If you happen to hate it, you'll sure as hell will have a harder time doing it.


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