Procrastination

Hi Abbie! How do I stop procrastinating? Even if I have an entire weekend to work on a project, I end up watching Youtube or texting my friends or going on random internet wormholes. I'm really struggling here.

Hi, thanks for writing in! Procrastination seems to be a pretty common struggle among people writing in, so hopefully my advice can help some of you out. 

Like stress, procrastination can come from many different sources, so it’s good to identify what is causing you these issues in the first place. Now, depending on where this is coming from, I have different advice. 

One of the most common reasons for procrastination, as counterintuitive as it seems, is stress. When we feel really overwhelmed, the easiest thing to do is avoid everything, but this will only backfire. List out all of the things you need to do and just focus on getting one thing done at a time. Start out with something that feels less daunting, and work your way up to the more challenging tasks once you gain some momentum. Sometimes starting is the hardest part. 

But maybe there’s something else causing your procrastination. You might struggle with certain executive function skills such as organization or time management. If you think there are certain skills you find especially challenging, I would encourage you to speak with a parent or counselor and see if they have any ideas as to ways in which you can work on getting better at these skills. You can also find plenty of techniques online about things like body-doubling, and I encourage you to try them, but I also think it is valuable to get more personalized recommendations from someone like a counselor or teacher.

And sometimes, it just comes down to motivation. As a second semester senior, I’ve had my fair share of moments where it feels like the things I’m doing don’t matter. And in the grand scheme of things, sometimes it doesn’t matter. But that mindset isn’t going to do much for you. Accept the situation and try to find ways to make the things you need to do less… sucky. Personally, I find that trying to make doing the things I need to do more interesting (ex. making my textbook notes colorful), or just making it feel new in some sort of way (like studying in a new spot), helps a lot. 

Just remember to have some self-compassion... you are already enough!

by ABBIE SCHWARTZ