I've been studying psychology and philosophy at university for some years now. I remember the first year of psychology. I was looking at all the different subjects that we were going to learn about the first semester, and I felt overwhelmed. There were tons of books to be read and tons of tests and exams to be held. I thought to myself; "how am i going to get this shit done?" frustrated and overwhelmed I went to the first seminar, it was about something called procrastination. I had never heard of it before, however after Learning about it, I understood that i was a subject of it nevertheless.
So what is procrastination?
Procrastination is the art of not getting shit done, when you have a ton of shit to be done. When you procrastinate, you postpone things irrationally and it eventually becomes a problem.
So picture this: You're just starting school after a long break. You see that you have 2 exams at the end of the semester, and that's it. You think to yourself, damn this is easy, I'm used to having an exam/test every month or so. You think that you've got no problem reading the books you have to read in time for the exam, cause it is in 5 months. That thought enhances the effect of procrastination. You decide to do other things than studying steady from day to day. You attend more parties than you originally planned, you go shopping more, you watch Television more, you use the computer more, etc.
When the deadline is drawing closer you start stressing and working really hard, there's just 4 weeks till the exam and you haven't spent your time wisely. You go from studying maybe 4 hours a week to 8 hours a day. You become overwhelmed, stressed anti-social and experience anxiety for the exam. You may even become depressed and give up.
I'm sure a lot of you can relate to this, I know I can. But what can be done to prevent procrastination? Here are 8 tips to help you become a better student, and spend your time better:
Work steady since the beginning of the semester, little everyday instead of overworking when you don't have a lot of time.
Be strict with yourself, if you have a big assignment, set mini goals, work piece for piece.
Find a good place to study, with not many distractions and stick with it.
Don't be too hungry while studying cause that can hinder your concentration
Don't sit too bad, and not too good either.
Don't get too caught up in the details so it hinders the rest of your studying, don't be a perfectionist, the big picture is always more important.
Set a time limit for how long you're studying each day. Then divide that time into 25 minutes of studying, and then 5 minute break. So if you study 1 hour each day, you set the timer on 25 minutes, and then have a 5 minute break, rinse and repeat.
Last but not least, be realistic to yourself, don't start the year off as a sprinter and get exhausted in the end, think of it as a marathon.
Anyway that was my "motivational speech" to all students returning to school, hang in there guys!
Feel free to comment what tips you guys might have for becoming a better student, or if you guys have any experience with procrastination, I'm sure you do;)
