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Overcoming Procrastination

Managing your time while you are in college can be extremely difficult. Below are strategies used by UIC students to reduce their procrastination. Experiment to find which will work for you. NOTE: First read the handout on time management

REDUCING DISTRACTIONS

  1. Find a good place to study – usually the library. While the library may seem almost too quiet at first, condition yourself to the quiet by starting with short periods of study there. Other good places to study might include study areas in various departments, SCE, or SCW. If you live off campus, try staying on campus to study during the week; on weekends go to a library near your home to study. Trying to study at home usually leads to distractions, thus prolonging your study time.
  2. Don't put temptation in your path. Limit temptations in your environment: Put your T.V. in a closet or only turn it on after your homework is finished for the day. Turn off your telephone while you study. Go online at the end of the day or in the morning before your first class. Continually facing temptations can wear down your resistance.
  3. Notify your friends that they should not call you about going out on certain nights (maybe Sunday – Thursday).
  4. As you study, keep a "to do" list nearby and record there any reminders to yourself that are distracting you. Do not get up in the middle of studying to do one of these tasks.
  5. Do not try to clear your slate of chores before you study. If you do, you will never begin.
  6. Get enough sleep so that you can work at top efficiency the next day (you may need 8-9 hours per night). Study in a place that isn’t too comfy so that you will stay alert.

INCREASING THE MOTIVATION : THE CARROT AND STICK

  1. Reward yourself at the end of each task, day, and week. For example, take a 10-minute break when you've completed a study task. Decide ahead of time what you will do during your break and make it something you really want to do (eat, listen to some music, make a phone call, etc.). If you have trouble getting back to work after a break, set an alarm. When you finish your goals for the day, take the night off. After a successful week, go out with your friends.
  2. Form a study group to make some of your study time more active and interesting. Also, decide beforehand what material the group will cover and tell everyone to come prepared (you will then feel pressured to do the work by the meeting time)
  3. Positive Thinking: post inspirational words above your desk. Surround yourself with positive, successful friends and keep your distance from negative people. Give yourself positive self-talks (I was the top chemistry student in my h.s.)
  4. Call your voice mail and leave a reminder or motivational message. Remind yourself of a goal or ask yourself whether you stayed on campus until 5:00 as planned.
  5. Link you schedule to someone else’s. For example, if you plan to study after class, arrange to meet a friend in the library or a coffee shop. Offer to drive a younger sibling to school or a friend to UIC as a way to get yourself out of the house earlier in the morning.
  6. Build your interest in the subject. Talk to your professor and ask why she went into her field and why she loves it.
  7. Visualize yourself in your future career. You might even post pictures pertaining to that career, along with things you plan to buy with your future earnings (maybe a picture of the car you plan to buy).
  8. Create artificial deadlines. Promise a friend that you will finish reading a chapter by 9:00 and then e-mail to confirm that you’ve done it. Make an appointment at the Writing Center to bring in the rough draft of your paper a week before it is actually due.
  9. Tell your friends your study goals for the week (ie. read 125 pages in psych, write 7 pages of a history paper). Offer to treat your friends to pizza on Friday night if you don't achieve your goals.
  10. Calculate what salary you hope to make after you graduate; ask yourself if you deserve that salary for what you’re doing right now. Post your tuition bill over your desk.
  11. Call yourself a liar. We all rationalize at times, but try to catch yourself when you do this. If you’re telling yourself that just for today you will go home to study, ask yourself how often this has worked for you in the past. Do the same when you tell yourself that you will check your e-mail, watch a half hour of T.V., or take a short nap before you begin to study.
  12. If a professor or another student has said something to hurt your feelings, use your anger as a motivator. Use an “I’ll show them” attitude to kick yourself into gear.
  13. At the beginning of the semester, write a motivational note to yourself in week 6 or 7 of your planner (or whenever you think your motivation may drop). Your note can use either inspiration or fear – whatever you think will work best for you.

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