A Beginner’s Guide to Effective Procrastination

To preface this entire piece, I do not recommend attempting any sort of procrastination if you are a) struggling to understand a subject b) a person who does not fair well under stress. I have spent the last 5 years perfecting my perfect form of appropriate and effective procrastination of homework, assignments, projects, and essays. It should also be noted that the amount of allotted time necessary to complete assignments varies from assignment to assignment as well as from person to person. My timing and workload may, and likely will, vary from yours.

Procrastination is an art form that requires both understanding and balance. Once you understand your own sense of this art, you will be able to put off assignments until the night before, and still produce quality product without sacrificing much in the process. I will not guarantee that you will receive 100% on these assignments, nor that an all-nighter is out of the question, but it is all in the understanding and preparation for these occurrences that make this possible. Understanding this balance between work and play will allow you to be successful and stay focused during your final push for completion.

This first step to be an effective procrastinator is to accept that you will be doing the work at the last minute. Do not lie to yourself that you will do it between classes, or a few hours a night over the next few days. Be honest with yourself and say, “I will do it right before the due date.” I have found that this is easiest with projects that you really have no intention of having fun while doing. If you have a fun project or assignment to do, I do not recommend pushing it off, but use it as an excuse to tell yourself why you are pushing off your procrastination assignment.

The second phase of effective procrastination is to give yourself the absolute deadline to start the assignment. For example, if you have something due at 8am the next day, you may give yourself the absolute deadline to start the assignment at 11pm that night. Now I have many times told myself that I will start the assignment at 8pm so i can be done with it, but then 8 turns into 9, 9 into 10, then 11 rolls around. I know that 11 was my absolute deadline if I want to finish this assignment with any sleep tonight. So you need to stop whatever you are doing and get started at this deadline. I recommend estimating how much time you think it will take to finish your assignment, then setting you deadline with the thought of getting 6 hours of sleep after completion (don’t be surprised when that 6 hours suddenly became 4 because your estimation skills need work).

The third and most effective strategy to becoming and effective procrastinator is to constantly keep the thought of what you are procrastinating in your head. You need to keep reminding yourself that, no matter what, you need to finish this assignment. This will make sure that once you reach the deadline you have set to start the assignment, you are fully aware of what you need to do and how to do it. This will save time figuring out the assignment and learning what resources you will need to complete the assignment. I strongly recommend this for essays, I would even go as far as to work on the introduction during the day to give myself a head start on the essay. The introduction is always my hardest part in starting an essay, so if I have thought about it on and off during the day, I can just start typing once I hit my deadline.

The last and most crucial piece of this puzzle is to stay relaxed at all times. If you are stressing about this assignment, you clearly need to start it now and get it over with, otherwise you will be miserable until you finish it. This neither helps you, nor anybody around you. So if you start to get stressed about it, take a nap, or a walk, or play a game to keep your mind at ease. Never worry about the assignment until it is time to get a move on. Then you still need to remain calm, but let the rush of pressure that the assignment is due in less that 12 hours start to fill you with adrenaline. There is no need to panic, but let this rush fuel you to complete the assignment quickly and effectively. This rush will also keep you focused and away from distractions. You will soon find yourself finished with your assignment, and ready for whatever sleep you find available after you are done. And remember, you earned that sleep.

Some parting thoughts to keep in mind while using this strategy:

1. This is not the best way to complete assignments, and I do not recommend trying to push the limits of what you can do on large assignments, nor on a first attempt. Gradually find your own limits
2. You did this to yourself, so do not blame anybody else for your bad mood due to lack of sleep, or your bad grade because you did not have enough time to earn an better grade.
3. Keep a drink next to you as you work. This can be an energy drink, coffee, tea, but I prefer a large bottle of water. It is quickly refilled for a small thought break, and gives you a tiny distraction during your work to take a sip.
4. Sometimes, you may find that you messed up, and there is no way to complete the assignment on time. So do your best to avoid these situations by learning about the assignment to see if you can, in fact, wait until the last minute.
5. If something goes wrong, remember that everything will be alright even if you fail this assignment. It may be cliché, but life will go on.
6. Finally, remember to stay relaxed, the whole point you are procrastinating is because you wanted to do something more fun instead of your work right? So enjoy the whole process.