Time Strategies

Up until about two years ago, I was a big procrastinator. Some wise person, somewhere, once said "The fact that I procrastinate and still get the job done is the reason I still procrastinate," and that statement was actually very true for me. The fact that I would procrastinate, and still do amazing, was very much a reason to continue procrastinating. I noticed the desire to continue procrastinating diminished when I became a mother. Becoming a mother turns your brain into mush. I was constantly frazzled, and even though I purposely started giving myself extra time to get us all ready to leave in the morning, some crazy randomness would occur and suddenly I was running late to everything. I knew that if I continued procrastinating, there would be no way I could possibly get my school work done on time and still get a good grade. I took initiative and began finding ways I could get my school work done on time without rushing. The two articles I read actually discuss the two main things I do that are successful for me. The Important Habit of Just Starting talks about the thing most of us struggle with the most on assignments: actually getting started. For some reason, it's so hard to begin an assignment, and so we keep on putting it off until the night before the deadline. What works for me, most specifically for essays, is to start the outline of my paper. I usually do this during the class that the paper is for. I know, I'm not the perfect student, and I tend to work on assignments while the instructor is talking. But hey, it works for me, so I'm probably going to continue doing it. However, once I start my outline, my motivation to actually start writing sparks. When it is time to leave class, I write in my handy dandy planner a list of things I plan to accomplish either that day, or any other day of the week. This is where I relate to How Checklists Train Your Brain To Be More Productive And Goal-Oriented. The article states that with any little accomplishment, our brain releases dopamine, which in turn persuades us to continue doing the behavior that caused the dopamine release. That was actually an interesting little fact, and it totally makes sense. Who doesn't feel good after accomplishing something? Because I'm now a busy mom of a toddler and an infant, a little planner is so beneficial in helping me keep my brain organized. However, you don't have to be a mom or a dad to reap these benefits. I highly recommend giving these strategies a try if you plan on quitting your procrastination habit. With all this being said, I am pretty confident in my time management skills, as I sit here about to complete this assignment that's due in 2.5 hours.

The Success of Procrastination

Image source: Tenor