How to Procrastinate

The advice you will hear most often in college, and probably in high school too – and maybe even for the rest of your life – is to not procrastinate. It’s good advice, no one can argue against that.

But you are going to procrastinate (unless you are like my roommate – I think she may be an alien because I don’t know how else she could have so much self-control). It is almost inevitable that at some point in your college experience you are going to put something off till the last minute, and you are going to regret it.

Here are some guidelines to help you minimize your regret:

Know your limits:

-          Some people work well under pressure, some do not. Some can write a decent paper at 3am, some can throw an essay together in two hours flat, and some can flip through their notes five minutes before a test and do fine. Most can’t. Know your own limits.

-          Sometimes college feels like a competition, and sometimes that competition is about who got the least sleep or who turned the essay in the closest to the deadline. It’s like the nerdiest game of chicken ever. Try not to compare yourself to others.

-          If you go too far and have to turn an assignment in late, write a note to remind yourself how much it sucks. Learn from your mistakes (the second most popular piece of advice you will hear in college life. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to “be yourself”).

Know when you really can't procrastinate:

-          When you have a bunch of little assignments that are meant to be done daily or weekly, but are due in large batches. Don’t fall into the habit of putting it off just because you can. The night before they are due you will feel like the sky is falling.

-          When you have a bunch of stuff due on the same day. Professors enjoy torturing their students, so they get together and plan their classes so that you have multiple assignments due on the same day. Not really, but it feels like that sometimes. Keep a calendar with all of your major assignments and tests so that you can spot a tough week ahead of time and prepare.

-          When asking for letters of recommendation. Ask as early as you can, whoever you ask may want to view your resume, cover letter, personal statement, or any other document that you need for whatever you are applying to. And when asking someone for a favor in general, it is always impolite to rush them.

-          When doing your school work could get in the way of doing something fun. If you know that your friends are going out Thursday night and you have a paper due Friday morning, get it done early. It’s great motivation.

Remember: College is about so much more than school, but you need to get your work done eventually. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can stop thinking about it.