How to Avoid Procrastination

College Student Time Management Tips to Stop Procrastinating

Nov 5, 2009

Having trouble staying away from the bad habit of procrastination? Here are some tips that college students can try to stay focused and finish their work.

Procrastination, or putting off work until the last minute, is a problem for most college students at least some of the time. Even the most motivated students sometimes lose focus and procrastinate, which inevitably leads to all-night study sessions, poor grades, and a whole lot of stress.

So what's the best way to avoid procrastinating in college? Different strategies work for different people. Here are a few strategies for avoiding procrastination for students to experiment with until they figure out what works best for them individually.

Time Management: Make a Study Calendar

For some students, the best way to avoid procrastination is to make a detailed calendar of what needs to be accomplished, and when. These kinds of calendars can be made for a whole semester, or for a busy week, or for a long night. Many students find that it's worth the time to spend a half an hour at the beginning of the studying process mapping out a detailed schedule that sets aside specific chunks of time to accomplish the tasks at hand.

Identify Individual Procrastination Traps

Everyone has a different activity they choose to do instead of work. Some of these activities might actually be helpful in another context, like working out, cleaning, or paying bills. Other procrastination habits are less helpful, like eating junk food or watching reality TV. Once a student identifies his or her procrastination traps, it's a little easier to steer clear of these. A TV junkie might find it useful to go study in the library where there's no TV available. A cleaning junkie might get all the cleaning done first so there's nothing left to do.

Work on the Tough Assignments First

Another trick that can be very helpful is to complete the assignments first that are more difficult, time consuming, boring, or otherwise unappealing. These are kinds of assignments that inspire procrastination most, so get them out of the way. Students tend to have more energy when they start studying, so it can help to devote this time to the tough stuff.

Work in Study Rewards

Trying to study non-stop for hours is maddening and encourages students to procrastinate. To help get through a long stretch of time, it can help for students to reward themselves for completing chunks of the work. Rewards should not be terribly time consuming, of course, or they will defeat the purpose, and students should avoid indulging in alcohol, large amounts of caffeine, or anything else that could deter studying. Some reward possibilities: a snack, a nice meal, a short workout, a short walk, a phone conversation, a video game (just one!), a short TV break, or a nap.

Get Back on the Wagon

Studying is like dieting. Inevitably, all dieters will have a rough patch and start eating too much again. The same is true for students, who will inevitably hit patches of procrastination. And just as the solution for fallen dieters is to pick off where they left off and stop saying, "I'll get back to it eventually," procrastinators need to take a deep breath and get back to work.

Dealing With Procrastination

Procrastination is a reality for students, and it's unlikely that a student will be able to avoid it at all times. However, by experimenting with some anti-procrastination strategies, students can improve their performance in school and learn how to stay focused longer.

The copyright of the article How to Avoid Procrastination in Study Skills is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish How to Avoid Procrastination in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.