Procrastination

Love this image! Displays procrastination perfectly.

If I could get rid of one bad habit that would solve almost all of my problems; it would be procrastination. There's no debate. It is my biggest issue.

I will do anything to procrastinate. A couple of months ago, I was picking my sister up from work on my way home from school. I had just written an exam.

While we were in the car she looked over at me and said, "You're eyebrows look really good! Did you go get them waxed?"


"No," I responded. "I plucked the crap out of them last night."


"Wow, you will do anything to procrastinate, won't you?"


Just a little example at my procrastination skills. I think I spent almost an hour that night, perfecting my eyebrows. The really pathetic part is that I only needed to study for about an hour for that exam. I already knew most of the materials. So I have come up with a few helpful tips to avoid procrastination!

How to avoid procrastination: 

1. Choose one thing and focus on it. If you are studying, pick one subject and focus on that for a designated amount of time. 
2. Set time limit. Tell yourself you are going to focus for an hour, and not a minute more or less. 
3. Take breaks. After the period of time is passed take a break. You deserve it! 
4. Find a quiet space. This is mainly for studying or getting work done. Avoid distraction such as the TV, radio, mp3 player, phone, computer, etc. Some people say that they study better with music, but they're only kidding themselves.
5. Get pumped! Whether you have a big test to study for or you have to hit the gym, get yourself exited. Listen to your favourite pump it up song and do some jumping jacks. Get the blood flowing. You'll find it a lot easier to finish what you need to. 
6. Do you have a favourite quote? One that really motivates you.  Read it. Don't have one? Check these out.
7. Plan out a schedule. Get an agenda book, and write it when you need to have things done by. 
8. Reward yourself! Whether you reward yourself by having a cookie, watching an episode of your favourite show, or buying that shirt that you've been eyeing; it's up to you.
9. Don't make excuses for yourself. It is so easy to fall into this trap. We all do it, we make excuses for ourselves in order to make us feel better about failing at something. We just need to own up to it. Admit our mistakes and move on. 
10. Break it down. If you have 50 pages to read, then read them 10 at a time. Every 10th page take a break.  If you're at the gym, keep the breaks short, under a minute. The interval training is good, but you don't want to lower your heart rate for too long.

However, sometimes its not enough to just avoid procrastination. You might want to take a look at the reason you do it. 

• Perfectionism
• Fear of failure/success
• Underdeveloped decision making skills

Personally, I think I suffer from fear of success. I think I'm afraid of the responsibility that will come with succeeding.