Sunday, August 30, 2009

Dealing with the Consequences of Procrastination

So I've been putting off my summer work for quite some time. I have a bit of reading, some essay writing, a few short answer questions, and a bunch of math problems left to do. And just a little more than a week left. So, here's MY way of dealing with procrastination and catching up on work on which I'm seriously behind.
  • STOP procrastinating. Now that you've realized how far behind you are, STOP putting off all your work. You're going to have to buckle down and do it now.
  • Make a list and a rough plan of action. Figure out all that you have to do, and try to plan out how to finish it in what little time you have left. If you have a book to read, divide the number of pages you need to read by the number of days you have left. The result is how many pages you must read per day.
  • If you're really behind, pull an almost-all-nighter. I wouldn't recommend pulling an all-nighter, because you'll be useless the next day. But stay up extra super late and shut yourself off from the outside world. Eat yummy healthy non-junk foods and lock yourself in your room. Read for hours, or write your essay non-stop, or keep working on that problem until you finally get it. If you're more of a morning person, try going to sleep early and waking up very very VERY early in the morning, so that you can get work done without any distractions from other people.
  • Speaking of essays, STOP EDITING AS YOU GO. Just keep writing. Seriously, don't stop. If you revise and edit as you write, you'll never finish. Wait until you’re done.
  • Another way to finish essays faster is to outline first. Make an outline of the points you want to make (and include the sub-points within each paragraph) so that you don't deviate from your thesis statement. This will also help because you won’t be sitting there forever trying to think of what to write next.
  • Try to devote a full day to catching up on your work. If you can find a day where you have little or nothing to do, take advantage of it and devote several hours to reading or writing. This has saved me countless times.
So, what about you, my dears? How do you catch up when you're behind on work? Let me know quickly; I need all the help I can get! Wish me luck!

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