How to -not- be a Procrastinator

Welcome back to Chandu’s Canvas! It’s me again, Deekshu. As I mentioned in my last entry, A Change in Perspective, I am a Highschool Freshman, soon to be a Sophomore. And we all know, growing up means more responsibilities, more work, so naturally that means more stress. And I know that sometimes we just want to take a step away from this work and do something else, take a breather. But sometimes those 5 minute breaks turn into 10 minutes, and then 30 minutes, and before you know it, it's been 3 hours or more. This wonderful form of working and breathing is also known as…. Procrastination! I’m aware that this doesn’t apply to everyone, I’m also aware that this applies to many people ranging anywhere from 13 to 25 years old.

Procrastination. I’m pretty sure that almost everyone reading this felt called out by this one word. Don’t worry though, I’m also calling out myself with this one too. Throughout my middle school years and the end of my freshman highschool year, I’ve noticed that even though people always talk about how working nonstop is the best way to go.

That's a lie........Seriously, it’s a lie.

It may seem like a really good way to get work done, and it seems really easy to sit for a couple hours and just grind. Sure, it may work in certain situations (like studying hours before an exam or submitting an assignment 30 minutes before the deadline). But it’s not always the best thing to resort to. It’s obviously important to take breaks, pace yourself. That way you don’t get stressed and you will be able to get work done more efficiently. But that’s where most people tend to have trouble: pacing themselves. Whether it’s controlling how much they work or controlling how long they take a break for. From my experiences, I’ve mostly only seen people having trouble with controlling their breaks, which is what this will mostly be focused around, since overworking oneself is a completely different topic.

As I mentioned before, I also tend to have trouble doing work continuously, not even for extended periods of time. But since the last couple of weeks I found myself in a place where I was up until 11:59 PM rushing to finish an assignment, project, etc. And that’s all due to me not wanting to do any work and just wanting to take a break. It seemed harmless to me at first, to just step back for a couple of minutes and rest and then jump back to my work, but I then magically found myself staring at a half filled page for 30 minutes because I just couldn’t. I had gotten so accustomed to just not doing work and taking it a bit too slow. 

I didn’t want to continue this unhealthy habit, as I was aware of the mental/physical consequences that would come with such an unhealthy habit, whether they were immediate or over time. So I did my research and I found a couple of study tips that helped stay productive. But one that stood out and worked for me was the 3-minute study technique.

Let me give a quick explanation for what exactly it is. The magic number in this technique is three. Basically, you set a timer for 3 minutes, and you study/work for that time. When the timer is up you have 2 options:

1. study/work for 3 more minutes

2. Take a break for 3 minutes (NO MORE)
   

If you choose option 1, then do that and then when the timer is up you are presented with the same options, study/work for 3 more minutes or take a 3 minute break. If you choose option 2, then you have to and can only take a break for 3 minutes and you have to get back to work, you don’t have any options except for working for 3 more minutes. After that time is up then you are once again presented with the same options: work more or take a break. And the cycle goes over and over again until you finish your work.

When I found this, I thought ‘I’m probably going to be taking breaks every single time, but I’ll still be productive every 3 minutes, and then maybe I’ll take less breaks’. Half of that was right. I indeed did start taking less breaks, but not over a long period of using the technique, but 30 minutes in. I’ll tell you why, when I started the three minute timer and got to work, my brain immediately convinced me into thinking it was like a race to complete the assignment in 3 minutes. Obviously that’s not going to happen, so once the timer goes off I’m going set the timer again to WORK MORE. Because I need more time to complete the assignment, and my brain then challenges me again into completing the assignment in that time. And when I was done with the assignment, only then did I give myself a three minute break to treat myself to a snack. And then the 3 minute race started all over again with another assignment. I introduced this technique to another one of my fellow procrastinator friends and she was very grateful. So if you want any recommendation from me on how to not be a procrastinator, then try out the 3 minute study technique.

But keep in mind, everyone functions differently, so one technique may not work for everyone. So that’s why it’s important to not completely depend on one thing, but rather try out multiple things and see what works best for you and helps you be the most productive.

That’s all I have for now, remember, get enough sleep, eat good food, and don’t procrastinate.

Your’s truly,

Deekshu