Procrastination has met its match. Photo by Courtland Jeffrey.Every student (or any person for that matter) has had bouts with procrastination. It happens to the best of us, and it happens frequently. One of the biggest contributors to the lack of attention is technology.
Our computers and smartphones have programs installed that do more than just help write assignments and research topics; iTunes, Spotify, Skype and Steam are just some of the programs that can quickly pull us away from our to-do lists. Out of all of the programs, the worst for procrastination is the internet browser. The internet has millions of different sites, all just a simple Google search away. The temptation takes over, and then you realize it is 11:30 p.m. and all that you have done on your essay is look at cat memes. If you are like me, you need to tackle this problem. Luckily, there are solutions to this problem.
First, do a reassessment of your internet browser’s setup. If you keep logged in on those favorite websites, change the settings; add steps to your extracurricular sites with the intention to hopefully deter you from it. Un-favorite, or remove from your bookmarks bar, those choice sites as well. If you have a habit of chatting it up on Skype or Facebook, end the conversations and tell your buddies that you need to focus on your work. Their story about last weekend’s events can wait until later.
If your procrastination problems persist, you may want to go Cold Turkey or get some SelfControl — no, really. These are open-source programs available that let you blacklist websites (Window’s users can download Cold Turkey and Mac users can download SelfControl) for a user-defined amount of time. Next time you have a paper due in the morning, blacklist your time-wasting websites, probably social media, until your deadline. There is no option for you to stop the timer (unless you uninstall the program), forcing you to stop yourself from getting absorbed in your go-to sites.
I have tried SelfControl a couple times recently, and it works perfectly. I kept trying to get back to Imgur, but the application stopped me. SelfControl helped me finish all of my work ahead of schedule, which was great (but the only problem was I set the timer to my deadline, so I had to wait for Imgur a little longer).
Be smart about what you have to do and what distracts you. Close those applications or websites that suck you in and pull up the assignment. It's Friday, you are almost to the pre-Halloween weekend. Get your work done and enjoy free time!
If you have any other procrastination-fighting tips, feel free to share them in the comments, on my Twitter @Court_Jeffrey or by email at cejeffre@asu.edu. Get back to work now!
