The Paper Trail

I am not a procrastinator.

Or, ya know, I used to not be and then I came to college and realized how much I really, really, really would rather binge watch an entire season of Jane the Virgin (I’m now on season 4) than do my psychology discussion boards.

I think we all have good intentions when it comes to getting things done. Maybe we even get excited over the prospect of being productive. I, for one, love daydreaming about all the different classes I will take for my majors, but when it comes down to actually doing the work, I’d rather be anywhere else.

Why is it that the things that used to bring us joy are now our major sources of procrastination?

I mean, last May, everyone was so excited about going to college, pursuing their degree programs, and taking classes. But now that a year has passed, the newness has faded and we’re not so thankful to have gotten into college.

Perhaps you feel this way about work (that job you really, really, really wanted that you now hate because it means waking up at 7 am) or a hobby (you were really into crocheting, but now you’re just looking for a reason not to).

And maybe because these activities were founded on such exciting terms, we don’t really want to admit that we’re procrastinating on them. So we come up with some super creative ways to not do them… but also not procrastinate on them in the official way.

Factor in a year of a global pandemic in which all of us did literally nothing… and yeah, procrastination isn’t such a fun word. The world is open and slowly getting back to normal, so how dare we be lazy after a year of doing just that?

So today, let’s talk about procrastination. We already know the watching-TV-to-avoid-problems strategy, so let’s dig a little deeper. And maybe come up with some ways to battle them.

Procrastinating by Doing the Least Challenging Task First

Now, there are very valid ways to structure your day.

Start with the easiest task and build up.

Alternate easy and hard tasks.

Start with the hard task and work your way down.

Or: You could do the classic procrastination technique of doing allllll the easy tasks today, and leaving all the hard tasks for tomorrow.

My motivation to do certain assignments plummeted after Easter. Suddenly, I’d rather do my Latin homework that wasn’t due for two days than my discussion board posts for my major specific class.

I’ve had a lot of homework this semester, so I’d cope by going through my email or filling out class surveys. It didn’t matter that I had several papers due – everything on the checklist needed to get done anyways, right?

The problem with this procrastination technique is that you’re making your future self hate you. And you’re also limiting the amount of time available for those more difficult tasks.

Although we all hate to hear it, productivity on small tasks isn’t productive if you are under the shadow of a huge responsibility.

It’s better to do the hard stuff first than wait until the end of the day to do it. Not only will your brain be fried by meaningless activities, but you’ll have less motivation overall because you’ve spent all day thinking about those big tasks.

There’s no easy way to battle this procrastination technique. If there was… I wouldn’t be procrastinating like this literally everyday.

Procrastinating by Under-Estimating How Long Something Will Take

There was one assignment for my psychology class that I thought would take three or four hours tops. Part one of the assignment ended up taking several days. There were three parts.

I am very thankful I started the assignment more than a day before it was due, but I wish I had started several weeks before it was due.

See, I always underestimate how long something will take. And it’s not a form of self-sabotage, it’s just me being optimistic and wanting a reason to not do it right this second.

If I think reading an entire section of To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf will take an hour, it’ll probably take two. If I think I can knock out all the research for a paper in a couple days, I should probably add a couple more to accommodate those pesky gaps in my research that I won’t know exist until they are very clearly in my outline.

As a rule of thumb, however long you think something is going to take, add at least thirty minutes. And if it ends up taking less time, then you’ve got some free time built into your schedule.

It sucks when you push a seemingly easy task off for too long and realize at the last minute that you should’ve started two weeks ago. I’m not saying we should all start our homework the day it’s assigned (or… ya know, whatever example is most applicable for your life), but maybe we should practice giving ourselves a little more time than our super brilliant brains think we need.

Procrastinating by Making Your Schedule Flexible

I had this awkward 40 minute period between two classes that wasn’t enough time to start a whole assignment, but a bit too long to take a break. I tried to schedule in some easier activities during that time, but unfortunately, I often convinced myself that my schedule was flexible (I had allllll day, after all) and so usually did nothing during those 40 minutes.

One pitfall of relying religiously on planners is that I know exactly how much time I have. And I’m also aware that I’m the only one making the schedule, so I can change that schedule if I want to.

It’s hard to respect a schedule that doesn’t talk back. I mean, if it’s written on a whiteboard, all you have to do is erase and it’s like it never existed.

Don’t want to start that essay? Start at 4 pm instead of noon.

Don’t want to do your laundry? You probably have time on Thursday at 3 rather than now.

Have to call your mom? Talk to her after lunch instead. (Just kidding Mom, you know I like talking to you.)

If we keep pushing things back, we’re going to hit the deadline. And in my experience, there’s nothing more stressful than studying for a midterm the night before because you failed to do so all week. Or still not having a thesis for your English paper that is due tomorrow because you were preoccupied with all the other things you pushed back in your schedule.

And even worse, the things that don’t have deadlines suffer and may end up abandoned. I hardly have time for writing anymore, and that’s mostly my fault because I keep rescheduling my writing time. But if I keep doing that… at some point, I’ll not be a writer at all.

Whatever schedule you have, stick to it (in a reasonable manner). Time is valuable – respect it! Even if that means carrying your to-do list sticky note with you wherever you go, make sure at least 80% of it is completed by the end of the day.

Procrastinating by Staying Up Late and Taking Naps During the Day

I love sleeping. But for some reason, I find ways to not do it.

Instead, I stay up watching TV as a “break”. I waste time scrolling through Instagram. I fold my clothes (and yes, for me, that is a fun distraction).

And then I wake up at the same time as always, exhausted. I go to class. I make it to about 2:00, and then I take a nap. Sometimes I don’t even make it to 10:30 am.

Napping can be healthy, but I think we can all agree it’s more productive to just sleep at night.

See, it’s not like I stay up late doing something productive. My brain shuts off after dinner – late night homework doesn’t exist for me.

So this schedule is really just a way for me to minimize how much productive time I have while simultaneously causing me to feel incredibly tired all the time.

Napping to avoid problems is real. And if there’s an essay due… or perhaps there’s an unfinished crochet blanket… it’s easier to just take a break. Fix another problem: the lack of sleep.

Obviously, the best way to fix this is to simply get your circadian rhythm back on track. Actually go to bed when you say you would. Only take naps on the days you really have nothing better to do. Protect your rest!

Procrastinating by Taking a Break as a Reward

This was my brain two weeks ago when I finished literally anything (and I mean, even as small as spending fifteen minutes proofreading a paragraph I had already written before turning it in):

“Erin, you’re amazing! Let’s gooooo! Whoot whoot! You’re so smart, you deserve a break!!!”

Me

Rewards aren’t bad things. Especially in a productivity rut, it’s important to do whatever is necessary to get back on track.

But sometimes the rewards don’t match the effort, and that’s a problem.

See, I would turn in one assignment, glance at my very full planner of many, many assignments that I still need to do by the end of the week, and then I’d lay down on my comfy rug for an hour and a half. Maybe I’d call my sister. Listen to music. Daydream.

I didn’t deserve an hour and a half break. I didn’t deserve a break at all. But subconsciously, I didn’t want to do my work, even if I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the consequences of missing a deadline.

So maybe in this instance, an accountability partner would have been nice. Someone external who could be in charge of my rewards until I learned to be self-controlled. And maybe a timer also would have helped (though I personally straight up ignore my alarms all the time, so that one isn’t as effective as in-person communication).

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My ability to procrastinate without telling myself I’m procrastinating is highly developed and highly counter-productive.

An example? This blog post.

I wrote an outline for it on Saturday, and starting actually writing it at 3:30 on Monday. After a five hour break, I went back to finish it, and am now posting it fourteen hours after I actually wanted to. It’s still Monday… but barely. Sure, sure I had other things to worry about (it is finals week after all), but I’ve also spent a lot of time watching TV recently.

It’s not that I don’t want to be a consistent blogger. And when I have a really good post idea, it’s not like I don’t want write it out right then and there.

It’s just that my carpet is super fluffy. And I’ve got all these pillows that I pile around me like a little nest. And now Instagram has Tik Tok… so clearly I have loads of excuses.

But seriously, maybe we all just need to be aware of these time wasting tricks. Sometimes just putting a name on something makes it easier to recognize and easier to banish.

And maybe now that I’ve procrastinated writing a post about procrastination, I’ll learn how to procrastinate less?