Is there a better way to procrastinate?

Does anyone else sometimes go to extreme measures to avoid their work? My recent interview for The Tab with the freshman running for Vanderbilt Student Government was not to promote his campaign nor a genius plan to establish The Tab on Vandy’s campus, but rather a “hmmm I have a paper I should probably do, but what can I do instead?”

Between 80 and 95 percent of college students are estimated to procrastinate. We all procrastinate in different ways, and sometimes it doesn’t affect us too negatively. I had procrastination issues at my previous college, yet was still able to pull excellent grades. However, frantic last minute efforts at a difficult school like Vanderbilt with smarter, more motivated peers has thus far been a recipe for disaster. Without changes, my habits will significantly harm my career and grad school prospects, and make me an unhappier person.

It’s not like wasting time and putting things off brings us pleasure. I often feel guilt and regret after spending an evening on dating sites or browsing dank Facebook memes when I was meant to be studying for a mid-term or getting a head-start on an important paper. What’s the appeal of wasting (and sometimes ruining) our time for no apparent reason?

• Poor self-regulation: this explains the link between procrastination and excessive drinking
• Low self-esteem: fear of failing, or sometimes even fear of being successful
• Immediate gratification: lack of long-term vision and goals, and not seeing the link between studying for a midterm and getting into grad school
• “It can wait till tomorrow”: this is how a ton of assignments pile up for me the night before they’re due
• Poor time management: lack of time skills or even just a sense of time

So what should our improvement plan entail? For me, it’s not only to procrastinate less, but to procrastinate smartly. There are some thoughts that help me reject the urge to ignore my responsibilities:

• Get started! Motivation comes from getting started, not the other way around. Besides once I get started, I immediately feel better about myself and am motivated to keep on going.
• Make work fun. Sitting outside in the sun or playing relaxing music (I love you Sia and Halsey!) makes my mood better and the time pass quicker.
• Keeping an updated list of things to do, and when to do them.
• Remembering cute partners don’t need to be found now. Besides, being smarter and more successful will help me more in the long run anyway.
• Remind myself I can have guiltless pleasures once I finish.

It’s no fun to spend every moment of every day doing work (although that would be nice for my GPA’s sake). However, we can recognize when we are procrastinating and switch to meaningful activities that still leave time for the responsibilities. I feel much better about myself after writing an article and creating something than after browsing Reddit for three hours. Here are some alternatives I promise to do when I need a break from schoolwork:

• Look at my Wunderlist of “wisdom”, and choose an article to write, book to read, language to practice, or if I’m feeling lazy, an episode of a TV show or movie that will expand my perspective.
• Clear my head and improve my fitness by going for a run or bike ride
• Learning to play “Hello” by Adele on the piano, instead of sitting on my bed moping after being blocked on Grindr.

Procrastination is a difficult habit and mindset to break, and one that’s not completely understood. But there are lots of resources to help procrastinators, including Samantha Brzozowski, Vanderbilt’s Academic Skills Advisor, who has helped me to use my time wisely.

In addition, I found “Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now” to be an interesting book that helped me learn some of the different roots of procrastination and use them to analyze my habits, and there a lot of simplified steps on the internet to help change the mindset. Procrastination is not a problem that will usually go away on its own, and saying “Just Do It” oversimplifies the issue.

But steadily cutting down on time spent twiddling my thumbs will make life more wholesome, happy and hopeful.

@TheTab