How to Survive in College When You’re A Procrastinator

I’m almost 99% positive that a true procrastinator doesn’t need to be told that they procrastinate because we, as a deeply intuitive group of people, already know we are.

So, my “I’ll just finish ‘it’ later” friends, let’s talk about surviving a full day of classes and activities while owning our lifestyle of choice.

Procrastinators, unite.

When I use the word ‘survive,’ I really just mean ‘thrive’ in every sense of the word. As a self-diagnosed high-functioning procrastinator, I’ve been ‘surviving' since I first entered my first class in 9th grade.

Although leaving things until the ‘last minute’ (or so our haters' claim) may seem like a form of self-sabotage, many students have been studied and found to function better in chaotic environments—academically speaking.

Side Note: Half of this post is meant to support procrastinators with humor, and the other underlying half is intended to help you tackle “bad habits” that could be detrimental to your college career. I hope you all enjoy the humor with the knowledge that ‘trying’ to do better in school is still ‘sexy.’

set your assignment ‘due dates’ 1-3 days early

Although I never formally read or heard this tip before my freshmen year, I realized, early on, that I needed to trick myself before I wrecked myself…(Get it?)

If you’ve ever heard the joke that people who are always late need to be told an event is starting two hours early, then you’ll understand the humor behind this first tip.

Sometimes it’s best to trick yourself when you know that you are your worst enemy—in a loose sense. This means, for example, happily writing that your assignment is needed on Wednesday rather than Friday.

why this helps

This is one of the easiest ways to trick your brain into powering on “overdrive mode” when you see that an assignment is coming up.

Let’s be real, how awesome would it be to stress and quickly finish a paper, because you have a day left to turn it in, and then realizing that you have two more days until it’s, actually, due.

Yes, it sounds as amazing as it feels.

 

create a college ‘workflow’

As a blogger, I have to write post after post, week after week, in order to stay on schedule for the days my readers expect fresh content.

This, if you haven’t already guessed or experienced, is tiring. It’s tiring, tedious, and extremely redundant which is why workflows are my 'boo(s)' until my human 'bae' comes around.

'Workflow' is another word for 'outline,' and 'outline' is another word for 'lifesaver.' (Look it up, it’s real).

For example, one might create a workflow for their research paper or their ‘chapter report’ when they know each assignment is structured in a similar way.

The outline below, that I found in my Google Drive (that was also the inspiration behind this post) was for a weekly ‘check-in’ that my Micro-counseling professor wanted every Friday by midnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

why this helps

Even though you can’t “drag and drop” like you would a template or filter for a picture, it feels similar with assignments that are recurring weekly or monthly.

Aside from making your life easier, this makes your written assignments more accurate if you attach notes or ‘blurbs’ that remind you what your professor wants or guidelines to follow.

 

use the Pomodoro method

If you’ve landed yourself on my blog sometime within the last two years, you’ve probably heard of this method many (many) times before.

The Pomodoro method is, basically, a time-management technique that separates your current tasks into timed intervals.

For me, this means opening my timer app, or an actual Pomodoro app, and adding my top three tasks for the day. Then, once I have my three (or more) tasks defined, I set each timer to 25 minutes—starting with the hardest task.

This may sound like a hassle, but it is the easiest way to keep your mind clear of unnecessary stress. The technique was created to not only keep you on task for the allotted amount of time you set, but it helps you move on when you need to—rather than wasting time when you're stuck.

why this helps

Splitting things up for small periods of time is great for stress, productivity, and a simple way to rush something you’ve been putting off. Need I say more?

 

set a ‘quiet hour’

The one thing I neglected to do until I was already months away from graduating (don’t be like me) was set a designated ‘quiet hour.’

Just like your dorm or apartment complex attempts to remind you on any given day, ‘quiet hours’ are created to benefit the student that needs some mental space to breathe at night.

Although I’m sure many of you have activities and meetings that conflict with multiple time blocks throughout the day, I suggest blacking out an hour towards your ‘bedtime’ to get important stuff done.

For me, this meant silencing my phone around 9 pm, right before I succumbed to my pillow and Netflix, for ‘last minute’ tasks that couldn’t wait until the morning.

why this helps

This helps the procrastinator that can’t shake off the habit but doesn’t want to completely screw themselves over.

Even though it’s never a good idea to leave things for the ‘last minute,’ a lot of my final papers were completed in record time because I only attacked them head one for one hour each night.

Still not convinced? No worries…We all process information at different levels. Just tweak your hour to a full time-block (3-4 hours), and hold yourself to that block as many days as possible each week.

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That’s all for this post, fellow procrastinators! There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you can’t find the humor in a habit many of us form at a young age.

I’m a firm believer in working around yourself, instead of trying to change every habit and action that you don’t like. Just breathe through it, and form ‘sideways’ habits that work with your ‘last minute’ choices.

Make sure to share this article if you enjoyed it, and comment below if you’re a part of the procrastination club!

As always,
Live (and do stuff last minute) Intentionally.