Procrastination – Is It Laziness?

Do you tend to procrastinate at work or when studying? Some people think they are being lazy when they find other activities to do instead of what they should be doing or that they feel they should be doing. Procrastination is putting off doing a particular job instead of just getting it done but there can be many reasons for this. Sometimes it’s boredom or dislike of routine jobs like washing dishes or cleaning the car but for many people, the job they are trying to do is just too hard or they don’t know how to go about it.

What is Procrastination?

Do you find yourself surfing the internet, playing a game or watching TV when you should be studying? Maybe you take a few more trips to the water cooler or the coffee machine or stay longer in the canteen instead of writing that report or getting out those figures? Maybe the dishes get done instead of the pile of ironing, or hanging a picture on the wall instead of decorating the spare room? That is procrastination – putting off doing something – avoiding it.

Sometimes it’s really hard

Not doing the dishes or washing the car may often be down to boredom but not studying for an exam or writing a big report may be because you simply don’t know how to do it or even how to get started. In work, often people think this kind of stuff was learned in school but that’s not always necessarily so. If you have a really big and hard job to do, then here are five tips to help you stop procrastinating and seeing yourself as lazy:

1. Get a Break Away.

If you are feeling very bad about this piece of work, whether it’s a report or studying, then sitting mulling over it or playing games instead of getting on with it won’t help. Take 5 minutes, half an hour, half a day or whatever you need to calm your feelings down. Sometimes time pressures won’t allow a long break but even 20 minutes kicking leaves under a tree in the park or even sitting in the peace of the nearest toilet cubicle can give you time to regroup your strength and deal with your feelings of anger, despair, fear or whatever.The break does NOT include sitting on the computer or other avoidance tactics. This is time to allow you to deal with feelings about this piece of work.

2. Find Support.

The best support is having someone to listen who will not interrupt or judge you. If you don’t have a close friend, then phone someone. If you really do not have anyone to talk to about this, then write down your thoughts in a journal. There are even online journals where you can write anonymously and no one will see it. Talk (or write or scribble or draw) about the problem. It’s fine to grumble about the people involved, the short timescale, the difficulties involved but NOT to be negative about yourself. You are NOT lazy or stupid. If you want to say something about yourself, then couch it in terms such as “I don’t YET know how to start on this”. You would be best to bin or burn any document like this after you finish it. You will have got rid of your negative feelings and you don’t need to re-energise them.

3. Make a checklist.

If you have terms of reference for a report or a feedback list of things to do or an item to study up on for a test, then draw up your own list of baby steps towards getting it done. Don’t use someone else’s list. I find the best way is to have 3 columns on a piece of paper, one for the list of baby steps and the other two columns to show what I have done and any extra work arising from that. I generally colour in the steps I have taken in green and the new steps that arise from that in red until I do those too, then I do those in green too. Seeing a list of checkmarks or green lines is motivating because it shows I am moving on with the work.

4. Ask For Help.

If making your checklist seems too difficult, then it’s time to ask for help, direction or support from the person who set you the task. They may not realise that the task is as difficult as it seems to you or they may have been unclear in their direction. It’s better to ask for direction while you still have time to complete the task, rather than complain you couldn’t do it when it’s already too late to do something about it.

5. Rebuild Your Passion.

If you are doing this for yourself, it’s much easier to work on it. Do you want to do well in your job, get an exam, be qualified to do a job you want? Then develop your passion for the job or the study. Work out WHY you want to do this in the first place. And remember, it’s always for YOU, even if someone else pushed you towards the goal in the first place. If you do not want this goal, then find the one you DO want and use these tips to reach that instead.

Avoiding Avoidance

Now I have procrastinated long enough – time to get back to my checklist of baby steps and tick a few more off the list!

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Are you having a hard time with studying? If you need to get your grades up or have a big test coming up, studying should definitely be one of your priorities. A lot of students get stressed about studying, but it is possible to greatly reduce your stress and to get better results by simply using the right strategies for studying. We will share some tips to teach you how to study more efficiently.

Engage with The Subject

Just reading your study books is NOT going to get the information going in, not unless you have a photographic memory and even then, it will not be catalogued in your brain: you may be able to recall the page perfectly but it is unlikely you will be able to pick information out and use it to answer a question, along with other information. It is important to do ACTIVE learning. Rather like being with another person, you need to ENGAGE with the subject. If you were in a room with a friend, you would talk to them, ask them questions, listen to their answers? Treat the subject you are studying like you would a friend. Ask questions, find the answers, write them down or take notes.

Time To Study

When do you usually study? The time of day you pick for studying can have an important impact on how much information you retain. You might find that it is easier to focus when you study at night once you are done with all your other obligations and have taken the time to relax. Or you might find that you get better results by studying early in the morning. Everyone is different and you will have to figure out what time of day works best for you.

Pulling an all-nighter is definitely not the best way to study. It is best to limit your study sessions to an hour or two and to focus on one topic at a time. Taking a few breaks can also help, as long as you have no problems with going back to studying once the break is over. The best way to take a break from studying is to move around or go outside. Avoid checking social media or texting friends during your breaks since you might find it difficult to go back to studying.

If You HAVE TO Pull An All-Nighter

Of course, if you find yourself near the deadline for studying or submitting a piece of work, you may have no other option. There is an easy-to-read, short book written for college students but also useful for high schoolers that helps you write a piece of work and submit it in time if you are stuck. The book takes only a couple of hours to read and can be downloaded onto a Kindle or ebook reader so you an get it instantly. It is REALLY USEFUL and also easy to read: I used it as a doctoral student and wished I had had it when I was at school. It’s called “The Procrastinator’s Guide to Writing An Effective Term Paper” and is written by someone who was a procrastinator and has since become a college lecturer. It covers not only how to write but also helps you understand the question and provides an effective formula that you can adapt for writing any essay. In terms of studying, reading this book will give you ideas and practical help for engaging with the subject you are studying.

Retaining Information

Figure out how you retain information. Some students have a visual memory and will remember written words or info-graphics while other students have an auditive memory and need to hear things. You might find it easier to remember things if you go over the notes you took in class and create summaries of the main concepts. Visual learners could create mind maps which show how the information links together. These mind maps are easy to create and to recall and unlike recalling the exact page, they show how different items link together. Visual learners can also use concept maps which are similar to mind maps.

Your Study Environment

It is very important to create the right environment to study. Avoid distractions as much as possible, for instance by switching your phone off. You might find that studying in a quiet environment helps you focus or might find that you get better results if there is music playing. You should keep music at a low volume and try listening to instrumental music, classical musical or music from video game soundtracks to avoid being distracted by lyrics.

Goals And Time Management

It is very important to set some studying goals and to create a schedule. You will get better results if you set some achievable goals and find a way to check if you remembered everything. You can for instance complete a short quiz after each study session to see how much you really learned. Creating a schedule is the best way to avoid stress and to make sure you have enough time to study everything before an exam.

You should be able to get better grades now that you know how to study more efficiently. Test different methods until you find something that works well for you since everyone is different and you need to figure out what kind of environment or studying method you prefer.