Eye on the Storm: The Official Undergraduate Admissions Blog of the National Leader in Experiential, Hands-on Learning

Procrastination is the killer of all 4.0s in America. It’s a horrible thing. Even this blog post, I was going to write tomorrow because I didn’t really feel like writing anymore today. Anyway, back to the topic. It’s really not that hard to overcome procrastination with a little motivation. What you have in the beginning of the semester could honestly push you all the way to graduation. You can do it in a few short steps:

1. Do the hardest task you have for the day early. I’m talking like wake up, and just belt it out. If you get something done in the beginning of the day, odds are you’re going to be very motivated for the rest of the day, as well as be in a better mood.

2. Remove distractions. This includes roommates, cell phones and music. Go to the library and turn off your phone. It’s the best thing you can do to get anything last second in on time. If you’re not checking your favorite fourteen Web sites to see if anything is new (we all do it) than you’ll have more time to get everything done.

3. Do something before it’s due. You’ll feel so much better it’s kinda ridiculous. If you get a paper done Monday when it’s due Friday, you’ll be much less stressed, and you’ll be able to go out on Thursday.

4. Split up big tasks. Don’t expect to be able to get a 25 page paper done in one night, the night before it’s due. Yes, you may be able to get it done, but it will not be a good paper. You won’t feel so overwhelmed if you get a little bit of a big project done before the due date.

• Make a list of the bigger task you have to do
• Make a list of what you would have to do to finish the bigger tasks.
• Fill in small things that you can do to work towards a bigger task, to get the biggest task done.

5. Set up due dates for yourself. Much like all the other steps, this means just prioritize. Set time out for a paper and get it done. You may even want to work on your time management skills in order to really be able to get anything done.