| ADISON STOCKSDALE |
| The Procrastination Queen | | |
| I am one of the best procrastinators you will ever meet. I put off everything to the last minute. Even if I set aside time to work on something, I will somehow still manage to do it later. I would like to think procrastination is just one of those things that runs in my blood, but I don't think anyone in my family is quite as bad as I am. When I was younger I would always get onto my brother for doing his papers ten minutes before they were due; now the roles seem to have been reversed. I would like to consider myself the procrastination queen and as such I feel I am perfectly qualified to give you tips on how to improve in your procrastinating abilities, because, let's be honest, we're humans, we are going to procrastinate. BUT, for the sake of seeming at least semi-responsible, or at least not a completely bad influence, we are going to talk about why you shouldn't procrastinate and how to stop...then we will get into the good stuff.Procrastination is defined as "the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished." Which is a terrible, terrible thing, don't do it kids. Psychology Today says that we "chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions." They go on to say that we have an issue with self-control and an "inability to accurately predict how we will feel tomorrow." Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Psychology Today. Some ways research has shown we can stop procrastinating are: commit to the task, promise yourself an award, ask someone to check up on you, act as you go instead of letting tasks build up, convince yourself that doing these tasks are up to you and not that your entire grade depends upon them, minimize distraction -- aka turn off your phone, and finally start with the task you hate the least and work your way to the most dreaded ones. These steps sound great and all, but if you are anything like me, there is nothing an article can say that will convince me to stop procrastinating, it's pretty much a permanent part of me. So why not become the best procrastinator you can be?These are the tips and tricks of the trade. The first has to do with something very dear to my heart: coffee. Coffee is an essential to hitting the late-night homework grind. Make yourself a pot, you'll probably end up drinking the whole thing anyway. If you aren't a typical coffee drinker (which why aren't you?) a great coffee blend that isn't too strong or give off that nasty burnt taste is Starbucks Breakfast Blend, it's delicious. Besides the obvious energy boost, coffee will provide yet another advantage. It makes you have to go to the bathroom, which gives you even more time to procrastinate, and trust me, if you are going to drink the entire pot you will get multiple bathroom breaks. If you really are worried about becoming a coffee addict like me, you can opt for green tea, coconut water, or watermelon juice -- all will give you the same opportunities for procrastination.Still in the food category, tip #2 is vital to staying up late. Snacks! Munching not only relieves stress, it's kind of hard to fall asleep while you're eating. You will need to have a mixture of both sweet and salty snacks because you are bound to get tired of just one type. But if you forget the salty you can always run to the kitchen, take more time away from typing your paper, and get yourself some chips.Now our next tip is for the truly dedicated procrastinator, not the faint of heart. This if for the ones that started binge watching a show on Netflix before doing their homework and leaves you up late. I'm talking three/four in the morning late, when you are so tired you don't know if you can physically type anymore. Take a break, set a timer on your phone for five minutes. Lie down on your bed, holding your phone in your hand, this way you will not only hear the timer go off but will also feel it vibrate, and take a short nap. Then go back to typing and repeat as often as necessary.Procrastinating this much is often going to make you hate yourself. You will be regretting putting everything off to the last minute, realizing you should have listened to your teacher when he said don't do it the night before, and ultimately cursing procrastination. In these moments the one solution is a dog. When you are feeling overwhelmed you can reach over and pet them, and maybe even boop their nose. You'll automatically feel better. This exercise will also work on a cat although not nearly as effective, considering they may scratch you and you could die of an infection the next day, but sometimes you have to compromise.For those of you who are not blessed with an adorable pet and need a stress reliever, take some B12 vitamins. These are NOT drugs. I am not telling you to take drugs, I am telling to take vitamins. Vitamins are naturally occurring in the body and have no side-effects. B12 is the vitamin that lowers stress levels and increases energy levels. It works wonders.My last couple of tips for you are focused around staying awake, because let's be honest, all of us procrastinators are sleep deprived. Our first anti-sleep tip is do not wrap yourself in a blanket. Don't have a blanket on your legs because you were cold, in fact just don't even have a blanket within reach. Something about the sight of a blanket makes you ten times more tired.Our next anti-sleep tip is for my contact peeps. Leave your contacts in. I know that sounds like the opposite of what you should do but it provides more of an incentive to stay awake. We know the consequences of sleeping with our contacts in -- it feels like somebody stuck a razor blade in your eye and nobody wants that. So, stay awake until you finish your paper, then take your contacts out.Our final procrastination tip for the day has to do with music choices. Always put on music when you are up late doing homework, but absolutely no slow, sappy songs. You will fall asleep. I don't care if you just got dumped by the love of your life, don't listen to sad songs. You need at upbeat song that will keep you awake but isn't going to cause you to channel your inner Christina Aguilera and start belting out the lyrics. You have to focus.Hopefully these tips will help you to be able to improve in your procrastinating abilities and at least get a couple hours of sleep. As I will probably be procrastinating for the rest of my life, I am always open to new suggestions, so let me know if you have any tricks of your own. Or you could be the responsible type and actually get things done ahead of time, leaving you to get your beauty sleep. But what's the fun in that? |
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