what are the chances of an 18-yr. old student in college breaking the habit of procrastination?
well, the question pretty much says it. to bring it down to home i am the student in question. i procrastinate so badly i have a 7-page, 5-academic-source-requirement research paper due in about a day and, going on my history, i probably won’t end up starting it- yes, starting it- until the morning it’s due. lol. so, what are the general statistics for breaking ingrained, bad habits? i’d like to know my odds of overcoming it according to the status quo
8 Steps to defeat procrastination:
1.Pick one area in which you find procrastination most annoying (homework, studying for tests)
2.Begin small and progress as you experience success. Be patient. Establish your own deadlines. Be realistic in setting a timetable.
3.Break the project into smaller parts. Chip away at it in small bites. Don’t wait for that “big chunk” of time.
4.Set a definite beginning time. You must break the inertia of inactivity. If getting started is especially troublesome, set a time for 10 or 15 minutes. Commit yourself to doing something on the project until the timer rings. Then you can decide whether to stop or continue. Chances are you will gain momentum and continue after the timer stops. If not, try another 10 minutes later in the day.
5.Do the most important things first. Avoid the distractions of the trivial and routine tasks when a higher priority job is waiting in the wings. Examining each task in light of your goals will help you set priorities.
6.Reward yourself for completing parts of a major task. It may be something as a 10-minute walk, a Coke, or a call. Contract with yourself for a big reward for completion of important tasks. A pizza, sleeping extra late on a weekend, or shopping for something may help motivate you to complete the job. Be nice to yourself.
7.Avoid perfectionism. Excellence is a sufficient level of performance for most things in life, and for many tasks (a new hobby, cleaning your room) adequacy is all that is necessary. Give yourself permission to be less than perfect. A good garden may have some weeds. You might double the amount of time spent typing a paper, attempting to get the spelling perfect. Could that extra time be better spent in another activity which will better help your grades? Probably so.
8.Procrastination is a learned habit, and can supplanted with a more constructive habit, giving your greater control over your life. If procrastination has limited your achievements, do something about it now!
i would say do want the thousands of dollars you paid going down the drain or do you need some type of motivation to do your work. for me all the money being pointless would make me do the work bc i come from a big family and cant waste thier money given to me.
imcrazylikeamofo - February 6th, 2010 at 1:37 amReferences :
Dear procrastinator:
bmtsjune - February 6th, 2010 at 2:07 amIt is your choice to break the habit first of all.
You cannot begin breaking a habit until you decide to do it.
And then you start.
I have heard it said that a habit only becomes a habit when you
start doing it, by choosing not to do what you did before and break
the pattern.
You are waiting to do that paper. I remember when I was younger I
had a paper that was due. I ended up staying up all night to do it.
I handed it in. Then, I promised myself never ever to postpone a
paper or thesis again. And I never did.
Remember, the first step of a 1000 miles begins with that first step.
An old Chinese proverb I learned a few years ago.
bye now. Littlelady75
References :
http://www.eHow.com/how to break a habit
8 Steps to defeat procrastination:
1.Pick one area in which you find procrastination most annoying (homework, studying for tests)
lordreith - February 6th, 2010 at 2:23 am2.Begin small and progress as you experience success. Be patient. Establish your own deadlines. Be realistic in setting a timetable.
3.Break the project into smaller parts. Chip away at it in small bites. Don’t wait for that “big chunk” of time.
4.Set a definite beginning time. You must break the inertia of inactivity. If getting started is especially troublesome, set a time for 10 or 15 minutes. Commit yourself to doing something on the project until the timer rings. Then you can decide whether to stop or continue. Chances are you will gain momentum and continue after the timer stops. If not, try another 10 minutes later in the day.
5.Do the most important things first. Avoid the distractions of the trivial and routine tasks when a higher priority job is waiting in the wings. Examining each task in light of your goals will help you set priorities.
6.Reward yourself for completing parts of a major task. It may be something as a 10-minute walk, a Coke, or a call. Contract with yourself for a big reward for completion of important tasks. A pizza, sleeping extra late on a weekend, or shopping for something may help motivate you to complete the job. Be nice to yourself.
7.Avoid perfectionism. Excellence is a sufficient level of performance for most things in life, and for many tasks (a new hobby, cleaning your room) adequacy is all that is necessary. Give yourself permission to be less than perfect. A good garden may have some weeds. You might double the amount of time spent typing a paper, attempting to get the spelling perfect. Could that extra time be better spent in another activity which will better help your grades? Probably so.
8.Procrastination is a learned habit, and can supplanted with a more constructive habit, giving your greater control over your life. If procrastination has limited your achievements, do something about it now!
References :