Tips to Help with Procrastination

I know that my blog is supposed to be focused on anything and everything writing related but how are you supposed to sit down and do a homework assignment if you have other things that you want to do?  As a college student, I understand procrastination and have found myself putting off the occasional homework assignment in order to do something not related to academics but if you are a person who is always setting aside homework assignments and are constantly turning assignments in late because you "ran out of time" then you should pay attention to these tips.

Before going out and climbing a tree, check to see how much homework you have.

(Photo/MorgueFile)

1. Try to plan your homework assignments around your free time.

• Take a look at your schedules for class, work, sports and other activities. This may be a little difficult since some schedules change but at least come up with a general list of the times that you will be busy with things related to school and getting paid. Next, figure out your free time based your schedules. You may find, like many college students, that you need to drop a few activities which may upset you but you are at college first and foremost for your education. 
• Lets say that you do not have to get up for class until 11am but you have class and work until 3pm and your sports practice is from 6-8pm. 
• There are three possible chunks of time that you could do homework
• Before 11am
• Between 3pm and 6pm
• After 8pm
• Take those times to get assignments done because those are the only times durning the day that you will be able to get them done. Take advantage of your schedules and do some planning.

2. Plan your homework around your friends.

• If you would like to maintain an active social life, there will have to be some give and take. You cannot expect to pass college by putting off all of your homework to make time for your friends but nobody expects you to sit in your room all say being anti-social either. Be willing to compromise and make deals with yourself. 
• Using the schedule I worked out above, there may be some free time available if you plan it out. Let's say that your friends want to go bowling and you have a 5 page paper due the next day. Make a deal with yourself by allowing yourself the morning and afternoon free time to work on the paper. If you get the paper finished, go out with your friends to celebrate but if it is not complete, your friends will have to wait. This will give you incentive to get the paper done but will also give you plenty of time to work on it so that you are not writing it all in an hour. 
• Tell yourself that you will write one page and then watch your favorite Television show or that you will find three academic sources and then go outside for an hour.
• It may also help to deem a specific night during the week "hang out with friends night" beginning at a specific time. Doing so will make it so that your friends are not pressuring you to put down your assignments but you also have something to look forward to and a reason to get all of your homework done.

3. Start on assignments early

• If you know that you are going to be having a busy week, use some of the weekend to begin the assignments that are coming up. This does not mean that you have to complete them all in the course of two days but if you begin a few then you will be making your work load lighter. The sooner you complete the assignments the more free time you will have later in the week to hang out with your friends. You also will not have to worry about due dates and turning assignments in late because they will already be done, relieving your stress level. 

These pointers have gotten me through some tough situations because procrastination can be the downfall of a college student. It is really hard for students in any grade level to catch up on assignments and once you fall behind you will continue to turn in late work because you will be too busy concentrating on getting the late work in that you will not pay attention to the other work in class. Procrastination leads to a never ending cycle of late and missing assignments and I have seen many college students who struggle to get themselves back on track, but it is possible. 

Hopefully these tips help out with those of you who are struggling to stay on top of school work. I promise there is a way to maintain a social life and get all of your homework assignments turned in on time but it may take some experimenting with your schedule. Best of luck!