Procrastination

[Fahim486]

Hi everyone,

I am currently in Yr 12 and this is obviously not the good time to be procrastinating so I was if anyone has any tips or tricks on how I can avoid this because I really want to be able to well this year and in my HSC and over the past years, procrastination has been the biggest impact on my studies.

Thanks!

[jakesilove]

Hi everyone,

I am currently in Yr 12 and this is obviously not the good time to be procrastinating so I was if anyone has any tips or tricks on how I can avoid this because I really want to be able to well this year and in my HSC and over the past years, procrastination has been the biggest impact on my studies.

Thanks!

Hey! I think you need to identify HOW you procrastinate, and try to take steps to minimise the impact of your procrastination. I've written an article here that looks at some common ways people procrastinate, and another here that takes a look at ways to study smart. Why don't you let us know a little bit more about your situation, so we can help you out if we can?

Jake

[Fahim486]

Hey! I think you need to identify HOW you procrastinate, and try to take steps to minimise the impact of your procrastination. I've written an article here that looks at some common ways people procrastinate, and another here that takes a look at ways to study smart. Why don't you let us know a little bit more about your situation, so we can help you out if we can?

Jake

I usually end up going on my phone or the internet and checking facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc. or even end up watching youtube videos during the times I'm meant to be studying and btw thanks for linking your articles I'll definitely be taking looking at them

[RuiAce]

I usually end up going on my phone or the internet and checking facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc. or even end up watching youtube videos during the times I'm meant to be studying and btw thanks for linking your articles I'll definitely be taking looking at them

You're gonna have to be a bit more forceful and less relaxed. Annoying, but that's the only way to go.

If it's effective enough, you can do simple things such as deactivating Facebook. Or you can use a website blocker. Perhaps, even better though, would be to put away your electronic devices (especially things like phones) away in a lock, or with your parents. Most of the time, your computer is probably the only thing that may have benefits in studying, simply because there could be an online textbook or this forum that you can access.

So set up barriers on the computer to eliminate these distractions. When it comes to distractions, a bit of force is inevitably going to be required.

Also, it may help to find a new environment to study. Going out to a library helps some people work, because the different zone makes their brains more focused and function differently. When I went to the library, the likelihood of me going on Facebook decreased.

[sudodds]

I usually end up going on my phone or the internet and checking facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc. or even end up watching youtube videos during the times I'm meant to be studying and btw thanks for linking your articles I'll definitely be taking looking at them

In terms of blocking certain apps/sites, try the app selfcontrol I know you can get it on mac computers. Theres probably a phone equivelant also (but I agree with Rui, just giving your phone to someone else is probably the best way to go - that way if you want to check your phone you have to go through the shame of asking the phone keeper hahaha)

[kiwiberry]

I usually end up going on my phone or the internet and checking facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc. or even end up watching youtube videos during the times I'm meant to be studying and btw thanks for linking your articles I'll definitely be taking looking at them

There's an app called forest which helps with phone/computer distractions as well! (it costs $3 on iphone but it's free for chrome). And I can also vouch for going to the library, I'm definitely way more productive when I'm not at home so going to the library after school has helped a lot

[Shadowxo]

What I did was tried to get as much done at school as I could, working during study / free classes and sometimes lunchtimes, and as others said, going to the library can be helpful. At home, you're used to relaxing and at school, you're more used to working so I always found I didn't procrastinate as much if I was at school or a library

[jamonwindeyer]

To add yet another tip; I think one of the reasons I was able to be (reasonably) productive in the HSC is because of my girlfriend. She studied a lot, so I studied when she did. Having someone who is along for the ride with you helps immensely. Perhaps getting a study buddy (romantic or otherwise) could be helpful! Maybe arrange study sessions at the library. Having that person there that you are accountable to (if you don't study, you let them down too) might help!

[Swagadaktal]

What I did was tried to get as much done at school as I could, working during study / free classes and sometimes lunchtimes, and as others said, going to the library can be helpful. At home, you're used to relaxing and at school, you're more used to working so I always found I didn't procrastinate as much if I was at school or a library

Can confirm: this worked for me.

I was too used to watching tv shows n relaxing for a couple hours after i came back from school, and by night time i couldnt be bothered studying so in term 3 coz exams were imminent i started staying back at school til 5 or 6 to do all my work, and that way i could relax later on without feeling guilty

[QC]

Hi, right now/for the past 6 months I have had stringent bans on my social media use/youtube watching. I used to be a pathological watcher in yr 11 and lower with more than 5 hours a day everyday. I have since majorly cut down. Firstly, I don't use a phone (screen shattered ) and I have 2 website blockers, cold turkey (also blocks apps) and stay focusd (allows me 1 hour per day on ok sites like atarnotes and messenger) . Right now, I have my cold turkey set to 1 year (until the day HSC ends 2017) where I have blocked like every single major time wasting site like Facebook, Youtube, twitter, Quora, Reddit etc. I have also deactivated FB only having access to messenger.
Now, I feel like my procrastination in ingrained in the way I operate because even though I have essentially removed EVERY possible distraction, I still am not doing anywhere near what I need to be doing and on some free days like weekends do literally nothing (I have sport and sometimes tutoring but still) (I have a v detailed google calendar  schedule which I am falling far behind even when I try to be lenient). I feel like I need like a 20 minute youtube vid to get me started as my mind isn't active w/o it or I need to check this website to get my motivated to start working. This isn't really working and now I am not only not doing much, I'm not really having "fun". Now that said, my ideal world would literally be me just doing work then eat then work then sleep. I don't want to get distracted but I feel as though I just can't work. This probably makes no sense but I don't know what to do. I don't think I have gone to hardcore on the ban and it is only for 1 year and probably the most important year for me cos my course that I wanna get is overseas and is v hard to get into if I just procrastinate for ages (I know with perspective in 10 years it won't matter THAT much but what else am I aiming for right now). I can't really describe my procrastination, it is mainly from this site, using a proxy to bypass my youtube ban then using it to catchup on a lot of the stuff I missed (then proceeding to get mad at myself, blocking the proxy and finding a new one later), reading books (that's like the productive procrastination as Jake put it cos this is required reading for the interview for my course) and general not doing what I'm meant to be doing. Something that has really made me think this is the vast amounts of news that I have been watching which I never used to. Personally, I feel like watching the news is literally pointless like you could literally watch no news and possibly get like the very largest of headlines like the GFC coming from your friends or something and you would be fine. I personally think that even something as big as Trump getting presidency has very little impact on me and so it doesn't matter whether I'm paying attention or not. This additional watching has also lead to me proactively debating people on youtube and reddit which is a complete waste of time. I've tried to justify this stuff to myself by thinking that it will be useful for economics to watch the most recent economic events like Australia's trade surplus etc. and for debating to see both sides of current affair issues but I know this is just a facade and I could easily be caught up to date in 15 minutes on the weekend rather than 2 hours every day. So yeah. I have no idea how to break this and feel like I am just destined to procrastinate no matter how much I try to avoid it, pls help. Also sorry if it doesn't make much sense, gotta keep to my hour deadline . I also have a very slow startup time, like if necessary I can work for 5-6 hours with 10 minute hourly breaks like I did on some days in the holidays but after school I am terrible since it takes me at least 1-2 hours to get started and once I do if I have less than 2 hours till I have to sleep (e.g come home at 6-7 from sport) I feel like it is pointless.

[Swagadaktal]

Hi, right now/for the past 6 months I have had stringent bans on my social media use/youtube watching. I used to be a pathological watcher in yr 11 and lower with more than 5 hours a day everyday. I have since majorly cut down. Firstly, I don't use a phone (screen shattered ) and I have 2 website blockers, cold turkey (also blocks apps) and stay focusd (allows me 1 hour per day on ok sites like atarnotes and messenger) . Right now, I have my cold turkey set to 1 year (until the day HSC ends 2017) where I have blocked like every single major time wasting site like Facebook, Youtube, twitter, Quora, Reddit etc. I have also deactivated FB only having access to messenger.
Now, I feel like my procrastination in ingrained in the way I operate because even though I have essentially removed EVERY possible distraction, I still am not doing anywhere near what I need to be doing and on some free days like weekends do literally nothing (I have sport and sometimes tutoring but still) (I have a v detailed google calendar  schedule which I am falling far behind even when I try to be lenient). I feel like I need like a 20 minute youtube vid to get me started as my mind isn't active w/o it or I need to check this website to get my motivated to start working. This isn't really working and now I am not only not doing much, I'm not really having "fun". Now that said, my ideal world would literally be me just doing work then eat then work then sleep. I don't want to get distracted but I feel as though I just can't work. This probably makes no sense but I don't know what to do. I don't think I have gone to hardcore on the ban and it is only for 1 year and probably the most important year for me cos my course that I wanna get is overseas and is v hard to get into if I just procrastinate for ages (I know with perspective in 10 years it won't matter THAT much but what else am I aiming for right now). I can't really describe my procrastination, it is mainly from this site, using a proxy to bypass my youtube ban then using it to catchup on a lot of the stuff I missed (then proceeding to get mad at myself, blocking the proxy and finding a new one later), reading books (that's like the productive procrastination as Jake put it cos this is required reading for the interview for my course) and general not doing what I'm meant to be doing. Something that has really made me think this is the vast amounts of news that I have been watching which I never used to. Personally, I feel like watching the news is literally pointless like you could literally watch no news and possibly get like the very largest of headlines like the GFC coming from your friends or something and you would be fine. I personally think that even something as big as Trump getting presidency has very little impact on me and so it doesn't matter whether I'm paying attention or not. This additional watching has also lead to me proactively debating people on youtube and reddit which is a complete waste of time. I've tried to justify this stuff to myself by thinking that it will be useful for economics to watch the most recent economic events like Australia's trade surplus etc. and for debating to see both sides of current affair issues but I know this is just a facade and I could easily be caught up to date in 15 minutes on the weekend rather than 2 hours every day. So yeah. I have no idea how to break this and feel like I am just destined to procrastinate no matter how much I try to avoid it, pls help. Also sorry if it doesn't make much sense, gotta keep to my hour deadline . I also have a very slow startup time, like if necessary I can work for 5-6 hours with 10 minute hourly breaks like I did on some days in the holidays but after school I am terrible since it takes me at least 1-2 hours to get started and once I do if I have less than 2 hours till I have to sleep (e.g come home at 6-7 from sport) I feel like it is pointless.

OK: Key to doing well in year 12 =/= locking yourself in your room and studying. TBH I think it makes you perform worse. I definitely didn't lock myself in my room, i watched youtube videos, tv shows (a lot of tv shows) - i used to watch tv from 3:30-6:30 every single day (had a number of series i was watching) because I believed that I needed a break from studying all the time after coming back from school, and I got an atar of 99+.
You need balance. Balance is so important and if you dont learn to balance up all the things you're doing during year 12 you're going to put yourself on a destructive path from post year 12 onwards. It's possible to achieve very good results by not studying 24/7.

[sudodds]

Hi, right now/for the past 6 months I have had stringent bans on my social media use/youtube watching.

100% agree with swagadaktal. 1 year is a very very very long time to sustain what you are attempting, and you already appear to be struggling with it (as anyone would!). You are putting yourself at a higher risk of burning out, which defs will not help your final results (and will increase your stress - trust me you don't want to get into this cycle). Though procrastination is not exactly a positive thing, if you are finding it super hard to motivate yourself to work, that might just be your brain telling you that you need a rest. Take a day off or two and go and chill out with some friends, watch a movie, have a bludge day and just surf the net In the long run though you might feel like you're just wasting study time you're actually looking after your mental health, which is not only super important for your personal wellbeing (the highest priority) but also important if you want to do well academically (take this from someone who didn't take care of it during trials and really regrets it!). It's fantastic that you are so passionate and determined to achieve your goals, but just remember that the HSC should not be your life, just a part of a year of your life - particularly at the beginning of the year, you don't want to exert all your effort, energy and motivation now and then be completely drained later on. It's really good that you are still keeping the sport up, DO NOT let that go

[QC]

100% agree with swagadaktal. 1 year is a very very very long time to sustain what you are attempting, and you already appear to be struggling with it (as anyone would!). You are putting yourself at a higher risk of burning out, which defs will not help your final results (and will increase your stress - trust me you don't want to get into this cycle). Though procrastination is not exactly a positive thing, if you are finding it super hard to motivate yourself to work, that might just be your brain telling you that you need a rest. Take a day off or two and go and chill out with some friends, watch a movie, have a bludge day and just surf the net In the long run though you might feel like you're just wasting study time you're actually looking after your mental health, which is not only super important for your personal wellbeing (the highest priority) but also important if you want to do well academically (take this from someone who didn't take care of it during trials and really regrets it!). It's fantastic that you are so passionate and determined to achieve your goals, but just remember that the HSC should not be your life, just a part of a year of your life - particularly at the beginning of the year, you don't want to exert all your effort, energy and motivation now and then be completely drained later on. It's really good that you are still keeping the sport up, DO NOT let that go

Yeah I understand this its just that I think that it would be fine for me to take breaks etc. if:
1. I wasn't already behind the school rank I need for the ATAR I want
2. I was able to just go home and work or just start writing an essay etc. If I had a low "activation energy" and I could just do work for 2 hours then not do any more for the day that would be good but instead I don't do anything until 10-11 and panic and end up being tired and working at a poor level until 2am.
3. I know that when it comes to exam time like 1-2 weeks out, my productivity drops or I miscalculate how long it takes to do x,y and z which invariably leads to me not being as prepared as I would have liked and thus not doing as well as I would have liked.
4. On that burning out thing, right now at least, I think that if I put in ALL the work in a few months before they are assessed, it is irrelevant if I burn out cos I have plenty of time to pick myself back up or have more time to prepare unlike what I did in term 4/last year.
5. Some people who have taken the same path as me (applying to the same uni as me) say that the commitment to getting in is = doing another subject. Again, if I can just do all the things right now, I will be far closer to me goal/dream
6. Some people at my school (its pretty competitive) have like finished all HSC courses so I'm kinda shitting it
Also the reason that I ban social media/youtube is more of me wanting future me to have to put more effort than just typing in "youtube.com" and clicking my subscriptions in order to procrastinate because this is way too easy. So yeah, also, I don't trust myself more than anything to perform at crunch time. I also do realise that starting now possibly unfortunately entails me to be forced to not really having any more breaks even if I get very far ahead since I will have to do exam prep etc. Anyway, the no 1. thing I wanna know is how do I break this "activation energy" to start working and how do I lose my need to do anything that is unproductive i.e watching news etc.

[Swagadaktal]

Yeah I understand this its just that I think that it would be fine for me to take breaks etc. if:
1. I wasn't already behind the school rank I need for the ATAR I want
2. I was able to just go home and work or just start writing an essay etc. If I had a low "activation energy" and I could just do work for 2 hours then not do any more for the day that would be good but instead I don't do anything until 10-11 and panic and end up being tired and working at a poor level until 2am.
3. I know that when it comes to exam time like 1-2 weeks out, my productivity drops or I miscalculate how long it takes to do x,y and z which invariably leads to me not being as prepared as I would have liked and thus not doing as well as I would have liked.
4. On that burning out thing, right now at least, I think that if I put in ALL the work in a few months before they are assessed, it is irrelevant if I burn out cos I have plenty of time to pick myself back up or have more time to prepare unlike what I did in term 4/last year.
5. Some people who have taken the same path as me (applying to the same uni as me) say that the commitment to getting in is = doing another subject. Again, if I can just do all the things right now, I will be far closer to me goal/dream
6. Some people at my school (its pretty competitive) have like finished all HSC courses so I'm kinda shitting it
Also the reason that I ban social media/youtube is more of me wanting future me to have to put more effort than just typing in "youtube.com" and clicking my subscriptions in order to procrastinate because this is way too easy. So yeah, also, I don't trust myself more than anything to perform at crunch time. I also do realise that starting now possibly unfortunately entails me to be forced to not really having any more breaks even if I get very far ahead since I will have to do exam prep etc. Anyway, the no 1. thing I wanna know is how do I break this "activation energy" to start working and how do I lose my need to do anything that is unproductive i.e watching news etc.

Well, tbh everyone has that activation energy to study, and it really depends on the task itself. I.e if for me, as long as I was at class pace and I wasn't behind I wouldn't be stressed and I wouldn't force myself to study if I really didn't want to.

SO the question is, why are you trying to lower the activation energy? Because to me it doesn't seem like you're stressed out enough and you're not behind enough to need that energy to be lowered. (Btw what does being behind on school rank mean? I have no idea what that means)
For me, if I had work that really needed to be done for a test or exam then I'd do it (because stress is a v strong motivator). If not, then I'd be lenient with myself because it isn't necessary to push yourself 24/7. I saved those hardcore nights for heavy sac periods or exam periods. Just remember, year 12 isn't a measure of your net effort throughout the whole year. It's how you prepare for a test and an exam - and if you aren't pressing hard when you need to and you're wasting effort in time periods that aren't as essential, then your result is going to be a lesser reflection of your effort.

And finally, don't worry about what others are doing. Look at yourself, and look at your marks. I knew people who finished the course of a subject in march, whilst I went at class pace --> I got a much higher study score for that subject. Why? Because I applied the right amount of effort at the right times .

[jamonwindeyer]

Btw what does being behind on school rank mean? I have no idea what that means

HSC Results rely reasonably heavy on your rank in your subject at school (1st, 2nd, etc). There's no like, definitive translation between rank and result though, because way too much affects it. Like, you can't guarantee a certain result with a certain rank. But it does give a good indicator of how you are travelling

To aroon; it sounds like you are stuck in a bit of a vicious cycle (forgive me for being presumptuous). Procrastinate for a bit, so you then have to work hard and make yourself tired, which makes you more likely to procrastinate. Rinse, repeat. Add in a nice mix of trying to prepare for assessments "a few months out", when it sounds like you are not having the best time to begin with, and no wonder you are procrastinating! It's your mind saying, "I want out."

Swag is right; balance is key. Look, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with people who have finished the HSC course already. That's great, good on them, but I sure as hell would never have done it. There's nothing wrong with setting goals, but they are them and you are you. People get incredible results without acceleration through their courses, without giving up Youtube, without giving up their partners or their social life or the things that make them happy. Hell, I got 99.80 and I had an awful Youtube addiction (that's only gotten worse at uni... gulp). It's all about balance.

So in summary of my two cents

1. Don't worry/compare to what others are doing, at least not in any way that is going to be negative for your mindset. Do what is best for you, not them.
2. Procrastination can be a sign that you are overworking yourself in the wrong ways. It's impossible to concentrate when you are already tired. If you force yourself to take breaks regularly then the work in between those breaks will hopefully get easier.
3. Don't stress about rank - I came from 2nd last in Extension 1 after my half yearly to 1st by the end of Trials. Hard work will make up for anything you aren't quite happy with.
4. Don't give up your unproductive habits - Just give yourself allocated time for them routine helps - If you tell yourself every day that 4:00-5:00 is your study hour for Subject X, and you do that every day of the week, gradually your brain will accept it and you will be able to do that lower level of work you are craving... Over time, good habits take a while to form