Procrastination - how to beat it?

[ccdd]

How do you all stop yourselves procrastinating? I'm finding it really hard to get on with what I need to do! EC doesn't help, just another way to do something I'm not supposed to be doing lol....

I suppose you could just say "just get on with it!". But that doesn't actually work. Do people give themselves treats or punishments or things? Or are you as bad as me??!!

[Maddy]

I try to make sure that I've eliminated all my distractions first. I check my friends list on Livejournal, I see if there are any more posts on EC, see who's on MSN, make sure I've got all of that out of the way. I give myself regular breaks too, and I guess those are my rewards. I still procrastinate, though.

[Lexington]

Think about the things you do when you procrastinate, then start putting down some obstacles so they're harder to do.

What do you do to procrastinate? EC, or other computer-based things? Fine. Then when you leave for school in the morning, turn off the computer. Turn off the monitor. Unplug it. Unplug your keyboard and take it into another room. Then, when you come home, you can't just "nudge the mouse" and start messing around online. You have to do some work to start procrastinating. That'll nudge your towards doing your schoolwork first.

Maybe you need your computer to get your schoolwork done. Fine. Unhook the internet connection. If you need that as well, close all your IM programs. Not just the IM windows - exit the program altogether. Sign out of EC and all other "fun sites" when you're done with them. Remove them from your "favorites", so you have to type in the URL each time you want to visit those sites. Anything so it takes some "work" to procrastinate. That'll force you to ACTIVELY do some things to procrastinate, and that'll give you more time to realize you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.

Lex

[Dark Secret]

Write a To-Do list* and set yourself certain times by which to do the tasks; work your way through the list till you have finished it - or you have got through as much as you can.

If you have any tasks left on your To-Do list at the end of the day, write them at the top of tomorrow's list.

*To-Do lists only work if you don't switch on your PC.

[Derek the Wolf]

Ah, let's not worry about procrastination. There's video games that need playing NOW.

[Kenko]

To echo what Lex said, shut down, unplug the computer.

If you need the computer for school work, but don't need the internet, disconnect the internet (unplug ethernet, disable wireless, etc).

[Kryz]

Procrastnation can't be beaten!!!

it's undefeatable!!!!

gahhhh

*dies out of procrastinating*

Sorry u_u

[Grof142007]

Pfft I procrastinatined my Way thru High School. Wait till College to stop XD but u must be an expert in BS I BS most of my assignment n pass XD Now I set deadlines to work no more than an 1hr tho it goes like this

1hr-work
2hrbreak
1hr 30min work
3hrs break
Look at assignment GIve up all hope and do it later
Break for the rest of the day
XD Good Luck

well....

If you stop using the excuse that you're "asking people how to stop procrastinating" in order to stay on the computer for long periods of time, while doing no work... that might help a little dude!! :P

But in the end, however shitty and hard it may be the only person who can stop you procrastinating is YOU! So be hard on yourself, be nice and productive for a while then have a break. I think if you try to do nothing but work, in the end you just end up feeling rubbish, overwhelmed and tired - a perfect combination to want to hide from by doing fun, but useless things for hours on end. If you actually let yourself have a few brakes then get back to work you won't feel guilty and beaten about it either. But for now... turn off the computer and get some work done!!!!!!

(all meant with the best of intentions of course )

So good luck and try not to stress yourself out too much dear!

If it helps at all, I am just as bad, but then I'm a pussy and don't like getting shouted at or letting people down so guilt always wins out in the end and I do it... last minute of course!

[Kimi]

Originally Posted by Lexington

Think about the things you do when you procrastinate, then start putting down some obstacles so they're harder to do.

What do you do to procrastinate? EC, or other computer-based things? Fine. Then when you leave for school in the morning, turn off the computer. Turn off the monitor. Unplug it. Unplug your keyboard and take it into another room. Then, when you come home, you can't just "nudge the mouse" and start messing around online. You have to do some work to start procrastinating. That'll nudge your towards doing your schoolwork first.

Maybe you need your computer to get your schoolwork done. Fine. Unhook the internet connection. If you need that as well, close all your IM programs. Not just the IM windows - exit the program altogether. Sign out of EC and all other "fun sites" when you're done with them. Remove them from your "favorites", so you have to type in the URL each time you want to visit those sites. Anything so it takes some "work" to procrastinate. That'll force you to ACTIVELY do some things to procrastinate, and that'll give you more time to realize you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.

Lex

That's great advice I also needed

[Cheese Love]

Oh god I wish I could help you but at this moment I'm supposed to be writing a five page paper on A Tale of Two Cities that I haven't started yet D:

[kh23172]

when you have a lot of stuff to do.. do a little bit of it every now and then.

like.. don't leave that huge project for the night before, and then realize you have troubles. there is this rule called the 80/20 rule, and is very popularly used throughout the business world. the theory is basically that you can do 80% of the work in 20% of the time, and thus 20% of the work in 80% of the time.. which is the most difficult parts of course.

always prioritize, and keep a list of what you have to do and have done. for me, seeing a list of what i've completed is very relieving.

[BlueRose]

I procrastinate oddly, for some reason. I subconsciously order my assignments by how much I would enjoy doing them. And whenever I really should be working on, say, my English paper, I'll work on calculus instead. Until I have no more calculus, or something even less desirable than the English paper to do. That, or it's the night before and I really need to get that paper written. So, maybe if you broke down your assignment into parts, and order them by how much "fun" each part will be.

[Kryz]

I FAIL miserably at not procrastinating...

I must be doing a THREE DAYS AGO homework....

I'm gonna start right now... I hate homework

[Mickey]

I'll tell you later! lol!

[Gumtree]

Its so hard NOT to procrastinate.

When it comes to homework and stuff, when you're in highschool it's so easy to talk your way out of or the teachers just don't care it's almost to the extent where it's no procrastination, it's just deciding that you're not going to do until the last minute.

[ccdd]

Haha - I didn't see all these replies cos I decided the best thing to do was to disconnect my internet, which is my No. 1 procrastinating device.

[ccdd]

In fact, my work productivity is directly proportionate to my distance from the internet . Although if it wasn't this, it would be other things... when I was a bit younger, before the internet (yes, there was a "before") it would be reading or tidying or having a bath....

[Peter]

Tough one. If procrastination was an Olympic event, I would be up for a medal in 2013!