Written By; Laila Hallom
Imagine this, class starts in five minutes, you’re sitting in your seat, waiting for the lesson to begin. You overhear the girl in front of you complain about how difficult the assignment was from the night before. You freeze, there was no assignment last night. There could not be an assignment from last night because you did all of your homework and double checked canvas and didn’t see any assignment for this class. You tap her shoulder asking if there was homework, her reply confirms your panic, you did not finish the homework due and now you are going to get an incomplete, ruining your streak of on time assignments. I’m sure this or any realization of a missing assignment has never happened to you. But if it has, this article is for you.
Moreover, this article is for anyone in need of a way to combat the obstacle of procrastination and the hand it plays in keeping you away from reaching your potential in school and in life. In today's society, the blame for most of our problems always ends up being our phones. Coming home from school or just sitting in class, the vast worlds our phones hold always seem more enticing than what's going on right in front of us. One way to direct that attention to homework is by initially limiting your time on your phone, but also taking breaks from schoolwork every hour or maybe every thirty minutes while doing your work. Long periods of time for studying is impossible even for the most focused learner to attempt, take time to grab a snack or walk your dog, anything to get a brain break and be at your best place mentally to retain and do your work efficiently.
Furthermore, It is important to not make doing your schoolwork into a punishment or a task you dread. Work for your time on your phone by completing a goal and giving yourself fifteen minutes to play on your phone. Set timers for every part of your homework, or make it a game to finish a math problem in fifteen to twenty minutes and then keep trying until you reach your time goal. This will improve your desire to complete your work, helping to stop procrastination. Additionally, tackling the reason for your procrastination is another main way to stop it. Everyone wants to do well, sitting down with yourself and doing homework can lead to thoughts of inadequacy if you feel incapable of doing well on your own. A great way of improving your circumstances is surrounding yourself with people who also want to do well or are already doing better in the subject as you. Tutoring through lunch periods, going to your teachers for second hours, or plainly talking to your teachers about any anxiety for assignments over email or in person will greatly increase your productivity. It will build your confidence to learn that there are so many people struggling and going through the same thing as you, and you can take it on together.
In short, procrastination is a hurdle stopping us from doing our best, but by managing your time, taking breaks, and asking for help, it can be jumped and you can make it to the finish line.