I’m not going to lie; I am the world’s GREATEST
procrastinator. I am the queen of procrastination. Yesterday, for example, when
I was meant to be getting on with an essay, I decided that it was a good time
to book tickets to see Jack Whitehall, baring in mind that my deadline is
today. However, I can now happily say that I have finished the essay AND handed
it in!
I have decided that this next semester will be a
fresh start. I WILL attend all lectures and I WILL MOST DEFINITELY NOT be
leaving all work until the week that it’s due in. We shall see how long this
lasts for.
So, basically these last two weeks have been so
busy! Here is a rough breakdown of what it actually is that I have been doing
with myself for not just these past couple of weeks, but my entire educational
life:
As
you can see, a massive 65% of my time is taken up by procrastination. This is
not good. The fact that being distracted and eating and drinking dominates over
my education is WRONG on so many levels. I get distracted by absolutely
anything from what I can hear going on in my flat’s kitchen to the hideous carpet
in my room. Not that I’m condoning any of the following, but here are the top
10 things I do to procrastinate:
1.) Look at my phone- eg.
Twitter, Facebook, texting.
2.) Catch up on cheesy
soaps such as Neighbours and Home and Away.
3.) Decide that my notice
board needs more pictures/decoration.
4.)Go and see what is
going on in my flat’s kitchen.
5.) Go and make food/ get a
drink.
6.)Look at pictures/videos
of sloths.
7.) Watch random YouTube
videos/music videos.
8.) Go and find someone
inside/outside of my flat to annoy with the phrase ‘I’ve got so much work to
do.’ (Yet I could well be doing it right then, but am making the choice not
to!)
9.) Decide that now is a
good time to ring round my family and friends at home and have hour-long
conversations.
10.) Make plans for future outings/events.
As
much as I wish that I could get away with my usual excuse of ‘the closer to the
deadline, the better I work, the better my grades,’ I really don’t think that
this cuts it for university level essays. So, in an attempt to get my act
together, here are the top 5 things that inspire me to get motivated and get
work done, (yes, I know- a lot less than the procrastination list, but I will
update this!):
1.)
Turn off everything breathing distraction around you- especially your phone. I
end up texting my friends moaning that I have so much to do when I could be
doing it. The Walt Disney quote that I used for the title of this post is VERY
true.
2.)
Think how proud your family will be of you once you get your
qualifications/dream job/whatever- I know it sounds cheesy, but it does work.
My grandma is always saying how she wants a photo of me in a cap and gown, so
that always reminds me that to get to that point, I do need to work hard!
3.)
Buy something new that you really want- this sounds like something you should
do AFTER you’ve done the work, but last week I went to Miss Selfridge and
brought a new, pink Boyfriend jacket that I’d wanted for ages, and somehow it
inspired me to pull an all nighter that night and get a load of work done!
4.)
Make sure that you have nice food and drink in- work breaks mean good food and drink and
by this, I mean junk such as sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cake, fizzy drinks,
milkshakes etc.
5.)
Read inspiring quotes- I love reading quotes and they always make me think
about things in a different way!
Procrastination
is one of my favourite topics and a skill that I have naturally acquired. However,
the funny thing is that once I actually get down to doing some work, I do get
into doing it- (I wouldn’t go as far as enjoying writing the essays though!)
So, my late New Year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating so much, stop
leaving work until the last minute, stop being so lazy and get motivated!