25 Ways to Beat Procrastination * Face up to the results of procrastination. What will happen if you procrastinate? How will you feel if you fail the test? How miserable will you be over the weekend if you have to write a last- minute paper while your family and friends get to go see a movie? * Concentrate on the rewards of managing yourself and your time. Think about the rewards that you will get when you finish a difficult task. You can go to a movie or relax or spend time with your children. You can get a good grade. Think about how good you will feel when the weekend comes and your paper is finished and you don’t have to spend all your time working on a project. Focus on how good you will feel when you did well on a project. While you are working, stop periodically and focus on the rewards. * Break up big tasks into small ones. If you have to write a paper, can you work on one segment tonight and another one tomorrow? If you start early and finish a small segment each day, a big paper is just a series of small tasks. * Give yourself a time limit to accomplish a task. Work will expand to take up as much time as we allow it to. Push yourself to work faster and more efficiently. * Set a regular time for study, and do not vary from it. Determine your personal “ best time” and “ best place.” * Start studying with positive, realistic thoughts. Push negative thoughts out of your mind. Tell yourself that you are growing and becoming more competent. Remember, “ You can do this.” * Establish good study habits. * Set reasonable, concrete goals that you can reach in about 20 to 25 minutes. Then, set others for the next block of time. * Face fear; look it right in the face. Make up your mind you are going to overcome fear by studying and preparing every day. * Get help from your instructor. Show the instructor what you have done and ask whether you are on the right track. * Avoid whining and people who whine and complain. You have this job to do, and it is not going away. * Allow yourself more time than you think you need to complete an assignment or to study for a test. * Practice your new study habits for 21 days. By then, you will have gone a long way toward getting rid of your procrastination habits. * Actually reward yourself when you have accomplished an important body of work. Perhaps you spent two hours looking for research articles on the Internet. Now, you deserve a reward. Watch a TV program; visit a friend for a few minutes; talk on the phone; answer your e- mail; read a book to a child. If you have not finished your work, push yourself to go back to work for a few more minutes. When you do this, you are building your discipline and staying power. Ask yourself: “ Can I work just 15 more minutes?” * Look at this task in terms of your long- range goals. Where does it fit in your plans of getting what you want? Does passing this test get you admitted to the job you want? Does making a B1 on this test take you one step closer to your career? Does making a good grade on this speech move you toward overcoming your fear of public speaking? * Avoid getting involved in too many organizations, accepting too many commitments, or overextending yourself. Stop and think about how much you really want to do something before you accept. How much time will it take? Does it help you grow and learn? Does it fit with your goals? It’s better to say “ no” than to accept something that will make you miserable before you finish. “ NO!” is a powerful word— use it! Weed out activities that take too much of your time and provide you very little personal reward. You only have so much personal time. Fill that time with activities that give you pleasure and energy. * Force yourself to jump in. Even if your initial work is not satisfactory, you have made a start, and chances are you will get focused as you progress. Sometimes, you just have to plunge in. You can’t jump off the high dive in small steps. Just do it! * Start on the difficult, most boring tasks first. Sometimes, it is effective to do these difficult tasks early in the morning before breakfast. This depends on your personal “ best time” to work. * Practice “ do it now.” Do simple tasks as you get them. Practice multitasking. What things can you do at the same time? For example, you can read a chapter while the clothes are washing. You can take your children on a walk and get your own exercise at the same time. * Find a quiet place to study and concentrate. Small children might not understand that Mommy or Daddy needs to study very badly. You may need to make regular visits to the library or to a computer laboratory so you can focus on your work. * Gain the support of your family and/ or friends. Talk to the important people in your life and let them know how important your education is to you. Ask them to help and support you. * Weed out your personal belongings and living space. Clean out and organize your closets and drawer space. Give things you no longer wear to charity. Buy fewer things that require waxing, polishing, recharging, cleaning, or storing. Things become monsters that take up your valuable time. Live a simpler life. * Prepare to be successful by getting ready the evening before. Be sure your car has gas; select and press your clothes; put all your materials in order; check to see if the children’s necessities and clothes have been organized. Often, the first few minutes of every day determine if you are going to have a good day. Program yourself for success! * Take time to smell the roses. Part of every day should belong to you to do what you want. We all need to find time for regular exercise; we need to spend quality time with people we love and enjoy; we need to pay attention to friends and relationships; we need time to focus on spiritual development. Don’t overmanage yourself to the point that you lose sight of what is really important— friends and family and self! * Balance your load. If you are working full- time and paying for all of your expenses, you may need to take a lighter load so you can have a life. If you are a nontraditional student who is working and has small children and a home to take care of, you might need to rethink your schedule. Very few people will ever lament that they didn’t do more work. But many will be sorry they didn’t spend quality time with their parents, grandparents, or small children when they could have. It is true that you can do it all, but most of us can’t do it all at one time. This race is just yours. You are not racing everyone else around you— just yourself.