Beating Procrastination
April 26th, 2009 | Categories: Question of the Week, School | 11 CommentsThis week, I will be taking my end of semester final exams. School has been so hectic in the closing weeks of this semester; I have had endless tests and assignments and other odds and ends to finish before the semester wraps up. However, with the exception of one paper1, I have nothing to do except to study for all of my final exams. I have an exam for each of my classes, two of which are back to back on the first exam day! If I make it through that first day it will be a miracle, especially as one of my exams that day is math and I hate math.
Obviously, I’ve been spending this weekend organizing my notes, going through old tests/quizzes, making study guides, and all that good stuff that is associated with studying and revising. However, I keep getting sidetracked and end up procrastinating from studying far more than I would like to, or in some cases, can afford to! The only thing that has really worked for me in beating procrastination is being pressed for time. I am good with managing my time when it comes to writing papers, but when it comes to studying, I find it far more difficult to sit down and totally focus as I revise. With a paper, you always know when you are finished, but with studying, it’s so hard to tell when you have studied “enough” to do well on the exam!
I don’t really have any tried and true methods for beating procrastination when studying. Sometimes I’ll draft a schedule of all the things I have to do and stick to it, with mixed results. More often than not though, I end up half-studying, half-procrastinating, and hope for the best when exam time rolls around. That is definitely not something I can keep doing; the risks are far too high!
Question of the Week: What methods do you use to beat procrastination? What have you found is the most successful way for you to study?
- I have a paper for one of my classes that isn’t due until the last day of finals. While that sounds good in theory, it’s actually a huge pain, because this paper was meant to be assigned two or three weeks ago, but because of my professor’s inability to organize and assign papers on time, I now have to write this paper in addition to study for my finals when I could have written this paper two weeks ago. [↩]
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
Good luck! I’m sure you’ll ace your finals!
I don’t really have a sure method tbh, I sometimes set goals (do this for two hours and then you can watch Bones) and other times I get the good stuff out the way to leave me with no option but to revise.
Good luck with your exams! :)
I’m currently procrastinating on so much things, it’s hard to say. Sometimes it helps going somewhere else to study so other things like the internet don’t distract you, sometimes I can manage it myself not surfing around aimlessly and finish the stuff I have to do. I’m having an exam in about two weeks and haven’t started studying yet, as I procrastinated since… January? I just start on the very last second and force myself not to do anything else once it’s over. Which will most likely start tomorrow. ;)
Good luck with all your exams! I’m sure no matter what happens, you’ll have prepared yourself well enough to do good on your exams. That’s what Manda’s do. :P
I don’t really have any sure fire anti-procrastinating tips (I’m the master of procrastination!). I do “fun” cuts where I cut out everything like TV and computering from my life and I don’t allow myself to waste time on them unless I earn the time by doing homework. Also going to the library is strangely helpful. I don’t bring anything other than homework and don’t tell anyone I’m going so no one can distract me.
Good luck on your exams! I always hate taking exams because I worry about the amount of studying I’ve done– over study, under study…
I only recently, within the last year, picked up the art of procrastination. I think the best way that I’ve found to combat against it is what I call, “limited indulgence”.
If I’d rather go out to dinner than take that time to study, then I can do that– but I have to study when I get back. Same goes with watching a show or going out to do something else. Sort of like a personal reward program? Haha.
Best of luck with your exams!
-M.
Procrastination describes me well enough, but beating it is another thing. Although I’m said to be a hard-worker, even I hate learning. Writing a paper or any kind of homework is not a big deal, because, as you wrote, I can see when it’s done, unlike at learning.
Normally I study at the dining room or outside, somewhere faaar away from my warm bed and lovely laptop. This way, the only way to avoid learning is eating sweets… but, at least, I learn more than I would otherwise.
I leave everything for the last minute when it comes to learning, and so, it gets piled up after a while. This way, I have lots of “learning days”, when I don’t really have another choice, but to get it done already.
Anyway, good luck with your exams (and dealing with procrastination)!
Good luck on your exams!
I make a list of the things I need to read for an exam, and try to plan it so that I’d be done studying one or two days in advance, a little buffer so to call to make sure I’ll have enough time. Then when I’m done with that, I go over my notes one last time (usually doesn’t take very long), and after that I reward myself with something fun to do :) I’m lucky that my exams have never been on the same day, and they rarely are at all :) My exams are spread over several weeks, and this coming exam period they are all one week apart from eachother, so I’m quite happy about that :)
I found this quite useful in being honest about what I was doing. Especially the fact that often my procrastination I justified as “helpful” rather than just sitting watching TV and so forth.
Good luck with your exams! You sound like you’re thoroughly prepared, even if you don’t feel it :)
I use flashcards- I take them everywhere with me, so if I have a spare five minutes or more, I can revise. I think that constant exposure, anywhere and anytime, is more effective for me than trying to get blocks of study in, but it depends on the subject as well- languages or maths, things with formulas and definitions, work well with flashcards, but more content based stuff is best learnt by just going over readings again and again (for me).
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