To stop procrastinating is HARD. Even I haven’t mastered this yet and occasionally catch myself mindlessly scrolling on my phone or doing other tasks just to avoid starting on my essay. Nevertheless, I’ve found some tricks that help me stop procrastinating most of the time and, today, I’m going to share them with you in the hopes that it will help you as well.

#1 Go to a place where other people are studying

Working from home doesn’t really help with my procrastination so when I have deadlines I always make sure that I go to places such as the UB or the Harmony Building where other people are studying as well. For some reason, when I see other people working, my sense of responsibility kicks in and I can start working as well. I often get sooo much work done and then I’m like, why didn’t I do this sooner?

#2 Study with friends with whom you can easily sit in silence

If studying alone makes you procrastinate and going to the UB or a faculty building doesn’t really work or help, try studying with friends! Especially friends who are focused and with whom you can easily sit in silence for some time. This always helps me enormously because they can hold me accountable when I’m scrolling through Instagram or talking instead of working. I also feel like we’re in the same boat and going through it together, which is nice. It’s a win-win situation!

#3 Keep your purpose in mind

What also helps me to procrastinate less is to remind myself of my purpose and why I want to study. Deadlines are simply part of studying and if I eventually want to graduate so I, for example, can get my dream job - which I would like - I cannot procrastinate all the time. For me personally, keeping in mind the bigger picture and the reason why I do what I do is a great way to stay motivated and to get things done!

#4 Change your mindset

This is a very important one, because having the right mindset changes everything. When I’m not in the right mindset, I procrastinate a lot. This is because my procrastination tendencies are tied to me being scared of failing. So, in my mind, when I don’t work on my deadlines, I cannot fail. This often only makes me more stressed and leads to more procrastination, which is not beneficial. That’s why changing my mindset really helps me. I say to myself that starting my work is not as scary as it seems, that failing is okay because that’s part of life and I can always do the resit. Putting everything into perspective and reminding myself of these things helps me loads and actually gets me to stop procrastinating most of the time. 

Whether your procrastination also comes from a fear of failure or not, changing your mindset can definitely help. Remind yourself that working on your assignments is not as boring as it seems (find the fun in it or try to make it fun), that it’s better to get it done now without too much stress than just before the deadline etc. and the magic will do its work. Try it out! ;)

#5 Plan in your study times

Predictability also helps to prevent procrastination because your mind and body know what to expect and when to focus. That’s why I make sure that I have a doable study schedule in place and a nice routine to go along with it. For me, knowing when I want to study instead of suddenly deciding I’m going to study on a certain day causes me to procrastinate way less because I have already predetermined when I definitely need and want to focus. In combination with scheduling study dates with friends during those times, there’s no way I’m going to procrastinate (at least, not as much). So, I suggest you get your planner out, decide when you want to study and go study! Hold yourself accountable as well, even though that might be hard.

#6 Reward yourself

Rewarding yourself is always a good idea. You can, for example, say to yourself that you can buy a fancy coffee from your favourite café when you’ve finished writing your first draft. Or you can treat yourself to a nice meal after a full day of studying. As I always say, of course you are deserving of all these things regardless of having done your work. But having something to look forward to might help you to procrastinate less during the day.

Although these tips will not work for everyone, I hope they will still help you to procrastinate less in some way or another. As I said, I also haven’t mastered this yet so you’re definitely not alone. If you have other good tips, let us know in the comments below. Good luck with your final deadlines! :)