Every student deals with procrastination, but not many people know how to deal with it. Procrastination is like having a devil on your shoulder telling you everything you could do instead of your homework. Don’t worry, I’m here to give you tips to say goodbye to that little evil man on your shoulder!

Stop Being a Perfectionist

Being a perfectionist myself, I understand the struggle of always wanting everything to be just right without a single flaw. However that is not always possible, and sometimes being a perfectionist can even hold you back. If you worked hard and did your best there is nothing more you can do. Don’t stay on the same paper or homework assignment correcting and checking it for the 100th time, when your time could be better utilized on something else! No one is perfect, that’s okay, just do your best.

Make Lists

I mentioned this in a previous post of mine, “How to Stay Organized Without Losing Your Mind”, but it really does help in so many different aspects of your life. It’s a method I swear by. In short just have a notebook or to-do list pad dedicated to making lists of everything you want to do within the day. This will work as a motivator constantly reminding you of what you need and want to do in the day, and the idea of being able to check everything off will push you to be more productive. Try it out for yourself, and I bet you will get more done in the day.

The 20-10 Method

This is a great method I learned about through Pinterest ,  (Shameless promo: Check out the GCC Pinterest for tons of inspiration!) The idea behind this method is to have a timer whether it be on your phone, an app you download, or there are even some webpages meant for this method. When you’re doing your work start the timer with 20 minutes on the clock, work for 20 minutes straight without interruption. When the timer goes off give yourself 10 minutes to relax and check your phone. Then go back to 20 minutes of working. Continue the loop until you get all of your tasks done! This is a great way to work instead of trying to do everything in one sitting and getting frustrated and exhausted.

Work When You’re Feeling Productive

This may sound simple but many people don’t do it! Whenever you feel productive, get down to work! Often people say ‘I’ll do my homework at this time’, but when that time rolls around they don’t feel like doing what they planned or they get distracted. So when you feel full of energy, and you’re looking for something to do, why not get some work done.

Do Your Favorites/Least Favorites First

This is a great way to snowball your productivity. Take your homework list and do the assignments you like the most (or in some cases make you the least miserable) and do that first. I would even recommend ranking your tasks from #1 to whatever, and go in that order. Doing your preferred tasks first will get you motivated, and you will be more likely to continue working. But you may prefer to do the least favorite things first, that way what you dislike or maybe your hardest course is out of the way, and the rest of your assignments won’t seem as bad. Either way, just have to figure out what works best for you.

You’ll always have those days where you’d rather do anything other than your responsibilities. Whenever you’re in a slump, apply these tips and let me know if you were more productive and if I helped you out. I love to hear feedback!

“Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.”

-Frank Ocean

-Danielle