Five advisor tools to combat procrastination
The majority of Americans deal with procrastination in some way. It’s the reason alarm clocks have a “snooze” button. Sometimes, no matter how important the task is, you just want five more minutes.
A study by the American Sociological Association found that while 20% of adults regularly procrastinate, about 80-95% of higher education students procrastinate. In fact, the same study found that 50% of college students considered it to be a chronic behavior.
Procrastinating is common in higher education. The majority of master’s students are working full-time or close to it, taking classes at night, doing assignments during breaks, and writing papers while their kids nap on the weekends. Delaying coursework is not always as straightforward as “I don’t feel like doing this until later.” Students often have a lot more on their plate than at school. It’s hard to manage. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
According to the National Library of Medicine, procrastination can influence your mood and increase anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Decisions on whether or not to be proactive about your assignments and overall education impact so much more than your degree. It can create a cycle of procrastination.
That’s where experienced academic advisors come in. At Brandeis Online, our advisors have years of experience working with students to achieve their goals and complete their degree. They’ve seen it all.
Here are some tools our advisors recommend to combat procrastination:
1. Get organized
Gather your materials. Grab your sticky notes, digital calendar, agenda, or notebook. The first step to getting a project done is always the physical organizational tools you use to organize your task list.
Student Advisor Toni Doherty suggests that while many find online calendars to be convenient, writing plans and tasks in a printed agenda helps your brain to process and store the information better. Adding hour-by-hour tasks, weekly tasks, and color-coding can also be useful tools, she says. They differentiate priorities, which can make timelines flow smoother.
2. Assemble a priority list
With a large task list, where do you even start? First, determine what needs to be done. Break larger projects into smaller digestible tasks that won’t stress you out. Then file all your projects in a priority list based on importance and urgency, assuring that every project will get done efficiently and on time. You may need to have multiple assignments up in the air at once, so the smaller tasks you created really help distribute the work across your available time. Lastly, plan when you will complete each task, leaving some buffer time for completion. No one likes stressing out at the last minute, or worse, losing out on a good grade because you didn’t plan for your deadline accordingly.
3. Start small
Every project needs to start somewhere. It could be as easy as researching or creating your document.
Student Advisor Toni Doherty recommends “Make a document, title it, just get it started,” your brain will start thinking about the project and get your ideas in order. This should motivate you to get started.
Studies show that accomplishing tasks boosts your brain’s dopamine response, which reinforces the pattern of task competition and joy, making it more likely that you will achieve your goals.
4. Get ahead of it
Just because a task isn’t scheduled until the next day doesn’t mean you have to wait. The timeline is meant to give you grace and prevent being overwhelmed. But, if you’ve started small and want to keep going, do it! Building up nerves, and waiting to do more, doesn’t hurt. The whole point is to get rid of your stress.
Student Advisor Toni Doherty says, “If you’re getting anxious, just do it. The more you think about it, the more you’re going to procrastinate.”
5. Have multiple reminders for tasks
None of these plans work if you don’t remember to do them. Set a few reminders, based on your “snooze” habits. It’s the same reason many non-morning people set multiple alarms. It’s important to know yourself and hold yourself accountable, setting reminders for when you need them.
Student Advisor Toni Doherty says, “All of these time management strategies should be adapted to what works best for you because you know best what works for you.”
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For more information on the online master's programs at Brandeis Online, visit our Academics page.