The plague of procrastination is something every student is familiar with, and one which (as anyone who knows me will whole-heartedly confirm) appear to have down to a fine art-form. There’s no getting away from it, unless you’re one of those wonderfully organised over-prepared students, for which all of your peers despise you. So what are the ultimate methods of procrastination?
1.) Let’s start with the basics: the internet. I mean, after seeing a person comment on a post you liked a few days ago, it would be wrong not to stalk their entire online presence from 2009… and then their girlfriend’s… and then her sister’s…
2.) Every student knows that you cannot properly begin an efficient and productive work session without being in a perfect state of Zen. For this, redecoration must occur! Desks must be spotless, floors must be hovered, surfaces must be polished, beds must be made, and all those posters and pictures you couldn’t be bothered with at the start of the year suddenly become very important to the Feng Shui of your work-space.
3.) As well as your surroundings, it is of course paramount that you are in the best possible place in both body and mind to become one with your studies. So just as you sit down to start your work, you realise you actually feel a bit greasy so a nice soothing shower is just what is necessary, followed by a relaxing nail-painting session so you feel truly calm and beautiful. Oh and of course a quick nap is just the thing to get you feeling fresh and revitalised to get on with some work! And naturally once you wake up you’re feeling a little peckish, so it’s necessary to go and make yourself some food so you can return to your work in a truly satisfied state. But after all that food you’re feeling pretty sluggish, time to hit the gym! And now you’re all sweaty so a shower is definitely in order! But that gym session was so tiring, you should probably nap first to refresh your brain…
4.) While you’ve got other things on your mind, you should probably do what you can to get those out of the way before starting your actual work. Time to get organising that pile of unopened bank statements you’ve been meaning to get to, and making various appointments you’ve been putting off. Well that went well! Time to reward yourself with a well-deserved break…
5.) Before starting any work of any kind, you obviously need to plan everything you’re going to do first. To-do lists, a highly detailed list of everything you need to cover in your work sessions over the next few weeks. This is the most dangerous form of procrastination, because after all those lists you feel like work has actually taken place and reward yourself with one of those beautiful breaks…
Pippa Searle
